Expecting
by yesimadramaqueen
Summary: After a trip to a lab, the Doctor and Rose wake up expecting. What will it mean for their relationship? Will they finally get together? A sweet fluffy fic with a touch of drama. 10/Rose pregnancy story. Doomsday didn't happen. It didn't!
1. Chapter 1

This was not how Rose Tyler expected to procreate. No, this was the opposite. When she was very young, she'd play house with her friends and shove a throw pillow under her shirt like a baby bump. Of course, at that age she didn't know how babies were made and assumed it was a stork delivering a basket or the result holding hands with a boy. After a crash course from Jackie about birds and bees, she understood things far too well. In her teenage years, she figured that she'd settle down with a man or suddenly get knocked up after a fling gone wrong. Then, she met the Doctor and decided that kids were not in her future.

"You're going to have a child."

Well, apparently she was horribly wrong.

_Several minutes ago…_

Waking sluggishly and with a pounding headache, she grimaced and wished that it would only be a hangover. Instead, her limbs were strapped down to a cold medical table in a lab and she couldn't move. The last thing she remembered was running for her life with the Doctor—as usual—and tripping over a nasty cable. Some aliens grabbed her and she felt a needle in her arm. That's when the world went black.

They were supposed to be on some leisurely planet, but the TARDIS began to act up in the time vortex. It trembled, things blew up, the Doctor was running all around, and they landed harshly on a spaceship. The aliens were unlike anything they'd ever seen, even the Doctor couldn't place them, and they were seemingly some sort of mad scientist race. That explained her surroundings.

"Doctor?" she called groggily, unable to recall if he had been taken with her or not. "Doctor?"

"Not so loud," he groaned. "My head is throbbing."

She craned her neck and spotted him on a table beside her, also strapped down. "How long have I been out?"

"Don't know," he answered gravely. "They got me right after they got you. Sorry about that. I shouldn't have let go of your hand."

"It's fine," she assured him with a smile. "What do you think they'll do to us?"

"Hard to say. Could turn us into frogs. Could see if they can extract every cell in our bodies until there's nothing left. Or, they could check our temperatures and give us a lollipop for our troubles."

She giggled at that. "I'm hoping for the lollipop."

"I hope I get a mystery flavor. Those are brilliant. Takes me one lick to figure it out."

"You and your oral fixation."

Abruptly, the sound of a door opening caught their attention and two aliens came into view. The tall one looked like a twig, Rose thought, and the shorter one looked like a chimp. They went over to the Doctor and scanned him briskly. "What are you doing to us? It's only fair to tell. And it's polite. Your mum must have taught you manners," the Doctor said to them, although they ignored him totally. They were much more focused on Rose.

"Get off me!" she cried in protest as they lifted her shirt and placed various devices on her stomach. "I said get off!"

"Leave her alone!" the Doctor attempted. "I'm the last of the Time Lords. _Last one_ of my kind. Much more interesting than a human. She's one of billions."

She glared. "Thanks for making me feel special."

"I'm trying to help," he defended.

A warm sensation trickled through her skin, but it didn't hurt. They poked and prodded, but again it was painless. Nothing seemed to change, as she wasn't becoming a toad or having her cells sucked out. After an uncomfortable amount of time, Twiggy—Rose decided to call him—clapped his hand-like apparatuses.

"The experiment was a success!"

The Doctor lifted his head curiously. "You've already done it? How long were we asleep?"  
"Over nine hours," Chimpy—the other one—answered gleefully. "Plenty of time to experiment. We were so excited to meet you."

"Wish we could say the same, mate…" Rose grumbled, recalling the chase through their vessel.

"Two species we had never had onboard before," Twiggy explained. "And exactly right for each other."

"What?" Rose and the Doctor asked together, both turning an intense shade of red.

"Genetically," Chimpy further explained. "We're children of the experiments. Hybrids. We keep the legacy of our forefathers."

Rose's head hurt worse at the confusing words. "What does that mean?"

"Congratulations," Twiggy grinned. "You're going to have a child."

She choked and the Doctor grew pale. Her mind was racing. "Can you repeat that?"

"Our experiment went perfectly! We've melded your genetic structures and implanted the fertilized embryo. The growth was accelerated for our documentation, but your natural process of procreation has begun. We've calculated that in eight months, you will give birth to the hybrid…" Chimpy continued.

The Doctor was unbelievably quiet. She was still in shock. "So, you're telling me that in eight months I'm going to have a baby…and he's the father?"

"Precisely," Twiggy smiled.

Everything became silent. Of all the ways to get pregnant, she did not think that aliens in a lab would be the cause. Her emotions were mixed. The motherly instinct was beginning to kick in, and she wanted to smile joyfully at the idea. Not only that, the Doctor was the father. That made her smile even harder. However, the other part of her demanded that they undo it. She was worried about the Doctor, especially since the expression on his face was blank. His eyes grew dark and he frowned.

"Take it back," he demanded. "If she's only a month along, take it back now."

She was surprisingly wounded by the forcefulness in his voice. Twiggy and Chimpy exchanged glances. "You don't want this child?"

"Yeah," Rose agreed angrily. "We should at least talk about this, Doctor. Before you decide things for me. Talk about rude and not ginger!"

He scowled. "Well, do you want this baby?"

"Do you?" she returned quickly.

"I'm concerned," he admitted. "Genetically speaking, we are compatible in a lab scenario. Procreation probably couldn't happen naturally. It's kind of like…a liger. Under natural circumstance, a lion and a tiger would never breed. In captivity, with human error and the right conditions, the liger is possible. But, it isn't a healthy animal. It has fundamental problems like size and weight and short life spans. You and I could have just created a liger."

She was trying to process it all. "So you're a tiger and I'm a lioness—"

"No, _I'm _a lion and _you're _a tigress. Otherwise it's a tiglon."

Her glare cut through him. "Is there a difference?"

"Yes, there certainly is. They aren't as common as the liger and they don't get as big."

"Thank you for making that distinction," she hissed. "So you're saying the baby might be unhealthy?"

"I don't know for certain what the ramifications will be, especially in a physical manifestation. I have two hearts and different body systems. What would happen if I gave you another heart? Your body wouldn't function. For all we know, the child could have two heads. Or no head. Or…anything. They could be very ill."

"Or not," she offered. "I'm just saying. These hybrid aliens look healthy. Weird. Very weird. But healthy. No offense or anything," she stated with a nod in their direction.

"Ligers, Rose. _Ligers_."

She was getting irritated and decided to fight back. "Wolf-dogs, Doctor. _Wolf-dogs_."

His eyebrows went up. "What?"

"A wolf and a dog. They're sort of related but sort of not. Their offspring are healthier than either parent. So, what if this baby gets the best of you and the best of me?" she asked him softly.

Suddenly, a small smile rested on his mouth, though concern was still in his eyes. "That'd be brilliant."

She grinned in response. "I know."

Twiggy decided to jump into the conversation. "The child will be healthy. Our tests confirmed it. You will carry to term, and you don't have a choice."

"What do you mean she doesn't have a choice?" the Doctor wondered worriedly.

"If the embryo is lost, she will die. We've connected it to her body so that one cannot exist without the other," Chimpy explained simply.

Rose glared at the pair of them. "So, if something happens and I lose the baby, you've killed me?"

"It won't," Twiggy assured her. "The Time Lord will protect you both."

"He what?" Rose repeated.

"I what?" the Doctor agreed.

"We saw you fight for her," Twiggy answered in the Doctor's direction. "When we tried to take her, you were trying everything to get her back."

She gazed at him intently. "You did?"

"Well," he shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah. I did."

They smiled at each other and Chimpy cleared his throat. "If you'd like, you are free to go."

"You don't want to keep us here to study the child? Not that I'm complaining about regaining feeling in my limbs," the Doctor grumbled as he tried to free his wrists.

"Our experiment was to see if conception was possible. We have already succeeded. It's in our files for future reference. As you said, there are billions of humans. If we come across them again, we will know more about their genetics…" Twiggy grinned as he carefully began to undo Rose's restraints.

She looked at him strangely. "Then why did you make it so that I have to have this baby?"

"It's our duty in the universe. We bring life," Chimpy laughed as though it were a dumb question. "Congratulations on your child."

Rose smirked as she got off the table, answering earnestly, "Thank you."

The Doctor was freed from his table as well. He went over to her and took her hand. The aliens waved as they walked toward the TARDIS in silence. Once inside, he set a course and she sat down heavily.

"Strangest day of my life," she commented. "And that's saying something."

The last thing they expected was to wake up…expecting.


	2. Chapter 2

"They were hybrids. That's why I couldn't tell what species they were," he commented as he flew around the console. "And this experiment is why the TARDIS brought us here."

"It knew this would happen?" Rose asked curiously.

"Oh yes. Paradoxes, Rose. Endless paradox. It brought us here because of the child, but it brought us here too early. So, the child was created in the first place. See? Like I said. Paradox. Paradoxes everywhere."

He fidgeted with a few things and she placed a tender hand on her belly. "I can't believe this."

"Which part?" he idly answered, placing his glasses on his face and meddling with the wires.

"I don't know. Maybe the part where I'm pregnant, you idiot."

"Now who's rude and not ginger?" he retorted.

"I'm closer to ginger than you are," she returned crankily. "You know, this is how I've _always_ wanted to get pregnant."

He stopped working and looked at her. "Really?"

"Are you mental? No! I_ at least_ thought that if I passed out and woke up with a kid on the way I'd have the fun of drinking and shagging beforehand. Doctor…we're having a baby. Us. A baby. I just don't know how I feel. I feel weird…"

That concerned him. "Something the matter?" he didn't let her answer. Instead, he dragged her by the hand to the medical bay and began bleeping her with his sonic screwdriver. "Everything appears to be normal. What symptoms are you having?"

"None," she grumbled as the sonic bleeped her between the eyes. "I meant _emotions_ not _symptoms_."

"Oh," he responded self-consciously. "Right. Of course. Well, we're here now. Let's make sure all is well."

She didn't get a choice. He ran test after test to make sure that she was all right, as well as the baby on the way. "How does it look?" she inquired, slightly nervous.

"Well, you're pregnant. And fine. Just fine. You're a month along. I checked everything I could at this stage in the pregnancy. Clean bill of health from the Doctor."

"Good," she sighed happily. "How are you?"

He seemed confused by the question. "How do you mean?"

"You're going to be a father."

"Right. That."

Neither one spoke. He helped her down from the table and ushered her towards her room for some rest, though the subject wasn't pushed any farther. She got into bed for some sleep and he went to mess with TARDIS console. Her mind wasn't letting her rest much at all. How did she feel about the idea of being a mother? What was the Doctor feeling? How would their relationship change? How would their lives change? What would her mother say? Oh dear Lord…Jackie. She had to tell Jackie at some point. That would be fun. What if she didn't make as good a mother as Jackie did? What if the Doctor didn't want to have them on the TARDIS? What if he didn't want the baby at all?

So, she was panicking.

Meanwhile, the Doctor tried to fix the same loose connection twice. He was horribly distracted. Unlike Rose, this wasn't his first time as a parent. He had children once, and when they died that part of him died too. It was painful to remember them, and he was terrified that the aliens were wrong. What if the child was sick? What if he got attached just to watch the child die? Did he want his life to change again? He was used to doing anything he wanted to do, and now he'd have responsibilities. What did it mean for him and Rose? What if Rose wanted to settle down? What if she left him with their child? Oh, it wasn't a question of whether he wanted to have a baby with Rose Tyler. The thought made him grin. It was the uncertainties that terrified him.

So, he was also panicking.

The next day, they were eating breakfast on the TARDIS in silence. Both of them didn't sleep much and a million questions in their heads. Rose decided to just get it over with. "Do you want this baby?"

He choked on his food. "Warn people before you ask them a question like that!"

"Sorry," she laughed, offering a napkin as a piece offering. "I just need to know. And don't turn this 'round on me. You will and it isn't fair. I've asked first."

"Fine," he grumbled. "It's complicated."

"What do you mean by that? Is that a nice way of telling me you don't?"

"No, it's not that. I told you I was a dad once before…"

Her eyes fell. "I'd forgotten that."

"Well, I haven't. They died. My children. The idea of going through all that again is hard. I see all the possibilities at once. That's how I view the universe. What is, what was, what could be, what must not. This is in flux. So in flux. The possibilities of what could be are…"

"Are what, Doctor?"

He didn't want say what he was really thinking, so he smiled gently. "They're vast. It's just a lot to take in. And you? Do you want this?"

"Yeah, I suppose I do," she laughed slightly. "Just…like you said. Lot to take in. And we have to tell my mother at some point."

His hands went to his face. "Can't we just show up with our child after they're already born?"

She grinned at the way _our child_ sounded. "No. She's my mum and this little person is her grandchild. Like it or not, my mother is family. Family is involved in these things. Well, human families. Not sure about customs anywhere else."

They exchanged soft smiles. His eyes lit up and he chuckled to himself. "Right. We'll visit her after breakfast. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you. Not sure how happy she'll be about the news."

"She'll be thrilled," she assured him. "They'll hear her in Scotland."

"Blimey, if this child gets her lungs…" he shuddered at the thought. "The crying will echo through time and space itself."

Rose chuckled at that. "I hope not. I'd be more worried about having a kid with your energy. You're so overactive."

"I get more done that way," he defended, pointing a finger. "What about your stubbornness? That would be something."

"Your restlessness, Mum's loudness, and my stubbornness? Sounds like hell on wheels."

"Or hell in a blue box," he offered.

They laughed hysterically and she beamed. "We're really doing this, aren't we?"

"What do you mean?" he wondered curiously.

"We're going to be parents."

He grinned. "Yeah. We are."

She let out a long breath and held her tummy for the millionth time since they left the lab. He pushed back his chair and stood. Her smile faltered as she thought of something. "How are we going to explain this to my mother?"

"That's on you, Rose Tyler. She'll probably just tell me to shut up anyway."

Rose giggled. "That's Mum. She might even try to slap you for knocking me up."

His fingers went to his jowl and he grimaced. "She's got a slap, that Jackie. Make sure you tell her it wasn't me as much as it was the other aliens."

"She'll still slap you," she smirked as he searched a drawer for oven mitts. "What on Earth are you doing?"

"Padding," he explained briskly as he headed towards the console room. "Either she puts these on or I'm taping them to my face."

The Doctor lit up as he heard Rose's laughter. It wasn't funny, but he really didn't mind it. He couldn't think of a better reason to get slapped by Jaqueline Andrea Suzette Tyler.


	3. Chapter 3

They stood in front of Jackie's door on the Powell Estate. He had the oven mitts in his pockets, just in case things went pear-shaped. Rose took his hand and squeezed it as reassurance, knocking twice. It swung open and Jackie grinned. "Rose! You've come home!"

"Hi Mum," she smiled as they embraced. "We thought we'd stop by."

Jackie glared at the Doctor. "I haven't seen my daughter in over a month, Doctor. Over a month."

"Sorry," he smiled widely. "So sorry. Time is a problem. Even on a time machine. For a Time Lord. It's all…timey-wimey and…such."

She didn't seem to appreciate the answer. They ushered inside as Jackie put on a pot of tea. Rose sat beside the Doctor on the couch. "She's already cross," he whined. "I just know that she'll attack. Sort of lunge forward and go in for the kill."

"Are you afraid of my mum?" she teased.

"Of course I am. A mother is the most dangerous thing in the universe. I once saw a mother defeat an entire group of Cybermen with her bare hands. Just reached out and snapped the circuits."

Rose gave him an incredulous look. "That did not happen."

"Well, no, but the point stands. Just wait until our child enters this universe. I am staying away from you if we get in a fight. You're already feisty."

"_Feisty_?" she giggled. "Seriously?"

"For lack of a better term," he cleared his throat with a blush on his cheeks.

Jackie entered with their tea and sat across from them. "So, the other day I was just walking down the street and this bloke came over—"

"Mum," Rose interrupted politely, wanting to get it out of the way. "We have something to tell you."

"Don't tell me the world is ending again. And don't tell me when. Well, it'll probably be on Christmas seeing how the world always seems to end on Christmas. Is it Christmas? No, don't tell me. I'd rather be surprised. It wouldn't be a good surprise. A surprise party is a good surprise. Not the end of the world. That's what you want to tell me, isn't? I knew this would happen eventually. It was only a matter of time."

"That's not it," Rose grumbled. "Mum, listen to me very closely."

"All right, I'll listen closely. When do I not listen closely? I think that I'm an excellent listener. A lot of people do. In fact, when I was talking to Jodi, she's the lady at the bus stop I see every morning—"

"I'm pregnant!" Rose shouted, instantly silencing her mother. Jackie's eyes seemed to glaze over and her tea cup hung in midair. "You okay? Mum?"

"Jackie, everything all right?" the Doctor seconded.

After a long pause, she grinned. "I'm going to be a grandmother!"

She squealed excitedly and hugged Rose, prattling on and on about pregnancy and children and the best schools and the best discount clothing stores and what she still had from when Rose was a baby…

Almost ten minutes later, Jackie let go of Rose and stopped talking. Her smile had faded and her eyes fell on the Doctor. He stood up, moving away from them quickly. His oven mitts were out and on either of his hands, ready to deflect the blows. "Jackie…" he started slowly. "Let us explain…"

"You," she hissed, holding a finger right in his face. "Are you going to marry her?"

"What?" they exclaimed together.

"You got her pregnant and you better do right by her!"

"No, that's not what—we didn't—Rose!" the Doctor called helplessly. "Please tell her before she hits me."

Jackie spun around. "Tell me what?"

"We aren't a couple, Mum…" Rose made sure that she didn't sound saddened by that fact.

"So you're just sleeping together?" Jackie roared. "You think that you can just have sex with my daughter, get her knocked up, and not commit to her?" she attempted to swat him and he caught it with the oven mitts. "What kind of bloke are you?"

Rose got up and wedged herself between them. Her hands held Jackie back and the Doctor was holding onto Rose's waist like a shield. "Mum! We aren't doing anything! We're _mates_ and that's all! Even if we were, he's a different species."

Jackie visibly calmed down. "So he's not the father."

"No, I am," the Doctor nodded with a smile, holding onto Rose tightly as Jackie stepped closer.

Rose had to take control. "We were on a spaceship. There were some aliens and they experiment on people. We were taken and they decided to create a hybrid of me and the Doctor. It's half human and half Time Lord. By the time we woke up, it was already done."

On that, Jackie had to sit down. "This baby was made by aliens as an experiment?"

"Yes," Rose confirmed.

"And you're keeping it?" Jackie asked in disbelief. "What if it's got two heads?"

"I asked that same question," the Doctor attempted, though he stopped talking at the look Jackie gave him.

"It doesn't. It's a healthy baby," Rose assured her. "And we didn't have a choice really. They've made it so that I have to carry it to term. I'm going to be a mother. You'll have a grandchild."

That got Jackie smiling again. "That's so wonderful!"

"Isn't it?" Rose grinned.

They embraced and the Doctor motioned to the door. "I think that you two should have some time. I need to put my mitts back in the TARDIS anyway."

Neither woman acknowledged him. Jackie smiled at Rose softly. "So where are you going to raise this child? Not on the TARDIS, are you?"

"Of course on the TARDIS. I don't want to settle down. Get the flat and work in some shop. You know that I can't live this life anymore."

"But what about the baby? What about school? What about safety?"

"Have you met the Doctor? He's the smartest person in the universe. A perfect tutor. Besides, history lessons can be _actually_ visiting history. There's a garden and a pool, not to mention so many other things. It's massive inside. Almost like a whole city. It's the safest place I know. I think it's a great place for a child to grow up."

"And what about you and the Doctor?"

Rose fidgeted with her lap. "What about us?"

"Aren't you going to raise this child as a couple?"

She snorted. "We're friends, Mum. We'll raise it as friends."

"You remember when you were little and I'd bring men home, don't you? You were always looking for a father so that we could be a family. Kids want their parents together. And isn't that what you want?"

"What?" she blushed. "Don't be daft."

"Don't be in denial, Rose Marion Tyler. You're in love with him and he's in love with you. For some reason, you two are too thick to admit that. Now you have a perfect reason. I'll bet that you can't look me in the eye and tell me that you aren't thrilled this baby is his."

Rose attempted to hold eye contact. "I'm…I…"

"Exactly right. I'm only thinking of my two babies. My daughter and my grandchild. They should be happy, and we both know what would make you happy."

"But what about him? I hardly think he wants to be with me," she admitted sadly. "What if we tried and it didn't work? How would it be then?"

"But you have to try," Jackie smiled comfortingly. "By the way he was smiling about being this kid's dad, I doubt that you'll have any worries at all."

She looked at her mother happily. "I can't believe we're having a baby."

"I know! Let's go through your old things! I'm sure that you can use it for your daughter…" Jackie led her by the hand towards her old bedroom.

"We don't even know if it's a girl or a boy yet!" Rose laughed elatedly.

"Mothers know things. I know that this will be a girl. C'mon, I'm sending you off with baby clothes and toys and all that! Not to mention a few home remedies. Wait until the morning sickness kicks in and your belly pops out like a pumpkin."

Rose scowled. She hadn't thought about all that yet. She was going to get sick, fat, moody, and sore from head to toe. How exciting. "It's not too bad, right Mum? The pregnancy and birth and all that."

"It's horrible. You feel horrible and you look horrible. Remember those scary movies where the girl screams bloody murder? That'll be you when you're in delivery. Worst pain you've ever felt. But the good thing about that is that you can remind your daughter of that whenever she's being cheeky. I nearly died giving birth to you, Rose. Passed out for hours."

She swallowed hard. "Thanks for that."

"You're welcome. Just be ready to ask for drugs. Drugs are good."

As Jackie dug through old boxes, Rose sat on her old bed deep in thought. She couldn't think of a better reason to scream bloody murder than giving birth to the Doctor's bundle of joy.


	4. Chapter 4

"What are you carrying?" the Doctor asked as he ran to the entrance to take a few boxes from her. "You shouldn't be lifting heavy things."

"Mum insisted on giving us things for the baby. Apparently, it's going to be a girl. She swears she's psychic or something. There are two more outside. Can you—"

"Already on it," he responded as he flew past her to bring them inside. "Everything go all right?"

Rose hid the flush surprisingly well. "Yeah. She was just giving parenting advice. She also let me know how terrible it is to have a kid inside you and how painful it is to get the kid out. Tell me you have drugs or medications for that."

"We will," he promised. "I'm going to get all the equipment we need. I doubt a regular hospital would know what to do with a wolf-dog."

Her eyebrows went up. "A wolf-dog?"

"You said we're having a wolf-dog instead of a liger, remember? That does make perfect sense. You're the Bad Wolf and I'm the hound dog."

She laughed. "Sounds about right. What have you been up to?"

He took her hand and dragged her to the seat. "Seatbelts! That way, whenever we travel, you won't fall around the TARDIS. And…" he kept leading her through the hallways and gestured grandly. "Railings! Every hallway. Again, in case we hit turbulence. Safety first."

"You've thought this through."

"I have," he smiled proudly. "You are flying in style and security, Rose Tyler. Nothing going to happen to either of you."

He had that adorable grin and she wanted to kiss it right off his face. Her eyes were focused on his lips, and it took a lot of effort to respond. "You're the best, Doctor."

"Yes, I am. And so are you. Now, I'm going to move these boxes to one of the extra bedrooms. I assume that'll be the nursery. Nursery. Huh. That'll take some doing."

She watched him pick a few boxes and smiled breathlessly. "Doctor."

"Rose?" he called behind him, still moving.

"You seem really happy. I wasn't sure if you were this morning."

He paused. "Neither was I."

His figure disappeared into the extra bedroom and she curled up on the seat in the console room, enjoying her flexible body while it was still intact. Once the boxes were put away, he started to hit buttons and roll knobs. "I have to go pick up a few things from the year 4107. Buckle up."

She clicked the seatbelt as they shifted around dramatically. "Why are we going to the year 4107?"

"That was the first year that prenatal care hit its peak. Hang on!"

They came to a stop and he pulled on his coat, beaming. She unbuckled and got ready to go with him, but he stopped her. "You stay put. I'll only take a minute."

"Why can't I come?" she complained. "I will not be held captive in the box just because I'm in a 'delicate' state."

"If they think I'm here for personal reasons, they mightn't let me 'borrow' what I need."

"Personal reasons?" she echoed. "Just tell them I'm your business partner."

His face turned red. "Well, they might not believe me."

"Sure they will. You have the psychic paper."

"It's not that simple."

"It always works."

"Not always. It takes precision and concentration."

She studied him carefully. "And I'd distract you."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"_Rose_."

"_Doctor?_"

"Stay here."

"No."

"Yes."

"I said no."

"And I said yes."

"At least be honest about why I have to stay here."

"I was being honest!"

"No, you were being honest while holding back the whole truth."

"That's not so."

"It is so."

Somehow, they had moved closer and were inches apart. His brown eyes were gazing down at her in a way that made her crazy, and his voice was soft. "You can't come because you'd distract me. You'd distract me because of your 'delicate' state. Then, they'd figure out why I'm 'borrowing' their equipment."

"So you'd be worried about me? That something might happen to my health?"

"No, not worried."

She couldn't be more frustrated. It was like pulling teeth. "_Then why_?"

"Like you said…I'm happy."

The words hung heavily in the air and she was stunned by the admission. He snuck out and locked the door behind him as she was reeling. When she noticed that he was gone, she groaned and reluctantly stayed back. She grabbed a book and did some reading, unable to focus on the pages for imagining snogging the Doctor senseless.

Meanwhile, the Doctor was in a clinic with his psychic paper. He claimed that he was recalling certain equipment for testing, as well as various medications and vitamins for Rose. While he was waiting on them to arrive with everything he asked for, he thought back to his afternoon alone on the TARDIS.

_Earlier in the console room…_

Upon leaving Rose with Jackie, the Doctor tried to fiddle with the TARDIS. The TARDIS would have nothing of it, and clearly she was trying to tell him something.

"Yes, I know!" he grumbled. "You brought me there because this was supposed to happen. Her becoming pregnant is a fixed point in time. That doesn't mean that anything afterwards is fixed, now does it?"

The console completely shut down.

"Don't do that! I'm trying to make a point. What if the baby doesn't survive? What if it does only to die young? I don't want to go through it again. I've already lost my children. You know how that made me feel," he retorted, watching a few lights come back to life. "What's that? This is about Rose?"

He waited and saw confirmation in the form of the console glowing.

"Yes, I do. All right? I do feel that way. And I do want…blimey, you know what I want. So, yes. You're right. There. I said it. There's always risk. Always. But there's a chance it could be brilliant. I'm going to be a father again. Me. A dad!"

As he grew more excited, the TARDIS came back to life in agreement.

"I'm having a baby with Rose Tyler. A little one. Half her and half me. That's…that's…fantastic! I need to make this safe for her and _our_ baby. Seatbelts, railings, eventual childproofing. Where did I leave the…" he stopped as the panel opened to reveal the proper box. "Thank you, TARDIS. I can always count on you!"

_In the moment…_

"Sir? Sir?" the hospital attendant had tried for almost a minute to get his attention.

"Right. Sorry," the Doctor answered embarrassedly. "Where do I sign?"

The TARDIS door opened and he wheeled the machinery inside, carrying a bag of medicines over his shoulder. He was humming a cheerful tune and went straight to the medical bay to set everything up. Rose heard him enter and snuck up behind him as he worked. "See you got everything."

He leapt slightly. "Rose. Hello. Yes, I did! Everything we need right here. If I remember, I'll return it. If I don't, oh well. They've got three of everything back there."

"Is this going to be a habit? Saying I'm too distracting to bring along?"

"Never," he smiled reassuringly. "It was just today."

She didn't buy it and she loved to tease him. "Are you sure about that? What's so different about today?"

"Everything," he answered automatically, thinking of all the joyous emotions he had nearly forgotten. She always had a way of making him remember. "Next appointment with me is in a few weeks. Until then, we'll go wherever you want to. As long as it isn't dangerous."

"That rules out most places with us, doesn't it?" she laughed and he laughed with her.

Their gazes met and they both fought the urge to kiss each other. If the tension got any worse, they'd surely break down. Fortunately for them, everything in their lives always got worse.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been three weeks since they were a hybrid experiment. For two of them, Rose knew what Jackie meant when she said that being pregnant was horrible. Morning sickness hit her right after she woke up, and the home remedies from her mother and researched remedies from the Doctor did nothing to help. That morning, she was on the floor of her loo in her flannel jimjams. It had already been thirty minutes and she was still clinging to the toilet, deathly sick and paler than ever.

Instead of knocking, the rude not-ginger Doctor came rushing inside with a worried expression. "Rose? You all right?"

She was too ill to make a snarky comment about his entrance and the fact that she could have been immodestly dressed. Well, more immodestly than usual. All she could muster was a tiny frown. "I've been better."

He crouched in front of her and produced a glass of bubbly liquid. "I read that ginger beer might help. This is close to it. Not the real thing. Sort of a knock off. You need to stay hydrated."

With a weak hand, she took the glass and sipped slightly. She leaned against the door of her shower and took another sip. "I thought that fighting Daleks was hell. They have nothing on this."

Sitting on the floor across from her, he chuckled and balanced his elbows on his knees. "You know, morning sickness is a good thing. Women who don't experience morning sickness can be more likely to miscarry. It's a defensive mechanism that protects the fetus from toxins the mother may have ingested. Certain plants have toxins that adult humans are not affected by, but because the fetus has not fully developed such toxins can be harmful or even lethal. That's also why certain smells or tastes can make a woman nauseated. It probably contains some sort of chemical that would harm the fetus."

"Really interesting," she grimaced as she felt her stomach churning. She handed him the glass and got closer to the toilet. "That defensive mechanism is in action."

She began to vomit again and he frowned, cautiously rubbing her back comfortingly. When she pulled back and hit the handle, he gave her the glass of ginger beer and looked inside of a cupboard. Discovering a cloth, he got up and wet it in the sink, joining her on the floor once more.

She took it in surprise and held the cool fabric to her forehead. "Thank you."

"Yep," he nodded, sitting directly beside her.

"You don't have to…" she began.

"No. It's fine. I have nowhere more important to be than right here."

Her heart fluttered as he grinned, placing his brainy specs on his nose and examining her jimjams. "I like that. What pattern is it?"

"…butterflies…"

"It's nice. I like butterflies. Magnificent creatures."

She smiled and took a small sip, idly cuddling up to his side. "I just know that they're pretty. I'll bet you know everything about them."

"I do," he said brightly. "Would you like to hear about them?"

As she nodded her head, he went into a long dissertation about the butterfly. He only stopped when she had to vomit again, and after making sure she was all right he continued. Every morning after that, she got sick and he arrived with the ginger beer. She told him that it was helping, but only because she wanted him to be there. It really didn't do much at all.

They'd visit safe planets in the daytime, which were still stunning but rather boring. At night, they'd retreat to the library for some reading. The TARDIS had conveniently located all of the parenting books at the front bookcase. They'd sit together on the couch reading different books about pregnancy or raising a child until Rose fell asleep. She'd usually wake up on her own bed, tucked neatly under the sheets on the side closest to the loo.

Every time they would read on the couch, Rose couldn't focus. She wanted to grab him and make out. Honestly, the Doctor wanted to do the same thing. But, both were too afraid to make the first move. She wasn't sure what he felt and he didn't want to screw things up somehow. Even so, their imaginations were in overdrive.

It was driving them bonkers.

One night, while reading a book called _Act Properly and Your Child Can Too_, Rose felt herself drifting off. The book slid from her hands and she slumped against the Doctor's shoulder. He glanced up from his book about encouraging early learning and smiled gently. Her shampoo was tickling his nostrils and he sensed her breathing deepen. She was out like a light, so it was time to put her to bed. Tenderly, he picked her up and began the walk to her room. When he put her in bed, he didn't notice that she'd left a pointy pink comb on the pink pillow. It was enough to rouse her slightly.

"Doctor?" she yawned as he stopped in his tracks.

"Go back to sleep," he murmured, attempting to back away. She held onto his wrist and he swallowed. His resolve was fading.

Rose was in that grey area of slumber and waking, so she had no idea that her subconscious was talking. "Stay."

"Stay?" he repeated unsurely. "No, no. I shouldn't. I couldn't. I can't. I won't. I might. Not. I might not. I will not. I need to go. Right now. I should go at this very moment."

"Don't," she yawned again, her eyes still closed. "Stay."

"But…but…" he faltered with a defeated expression.

He wanted to stay, and obviously she wanted him there. Besides, that way he could be there when she got sick in the morning. Before he knew what he was doing, he was in bed with her.

"Night," she mumbled as she burrowed into his chest.

His arms looped around her and he grinned. "Goodnight, Rose Tyler. 'Night little one."

When she stirred that morning, she was slightly confused as to why something was draped around her and a comb was beneath her head. She blinked and looked at the arm and glanced over her shoulder to see the Doctor's sleeping face. It took a second to gather what happened, and when she did she was appalled that she slipped and asked him to stay. The other part of her was delighted that he had taken her up on her offer. The glow was short lived, as her stomach bubbled and she threw his arm away, running to the loo.

The Doctor sat up instantly, hearing the unpleasant sounds. He got up and fetched a glass of ginger beer, joining her inside. She looked up and blushed upon seeing him. "Hi."

"Hello," he grinned like an excited school boy. "Good morning. Well, maybe 'good' isn't the right word."

He handed her the glass and sat beside her as she sipped. "You stayed," she commented quietly.

"You asked me," he answered automatically and much too happily. "Then again, you were half asleep. Did you not want me to?"

"Well, I didn't know that I asked you. Like you said, I wasn't all there. But, yeah. I did."

"Really?" he questioned, pleasantly surprised.

"Really. Sorry if I made you stay if you didn't want to. You don't have to. If I accidentally ask again, it's okay to say no. You probably have other things to do. Fiddling with the TARDIS and all that."

He ran a nervous hand through his bedhead, admitting quietly, "No, I wanted to stay."

"Seriously?" she smiled hard enough to make her face sore.

"Yes. I did."

The moment was broken as she vomited again. He rubbed her back as she groaned, resurfacing to use her ginger beer like mouthwash. "I am disgusting right now."

"You're not," he assured her softly, holding a serious and smoldering expression.

The tension was back, pulling them closer. She could feel her heart pounding and so could he. Her breathing was rapid, that he noticed too. Did that mean that Rose Tyler wanted the same thing that he wanted? He didn't care about anything else in that moment. Her lips were too close and too tempting. He barely moved forward and she closed the distance. They kissed for a brief amount of time and she had to turn back to the loo.

He grinned as he held back her hair, whispering, "You tasted like ginger."


	6. Chapter 6

"Look at that," Rose commented as she motioned to her somewhat exposed chest. "I swear that I didn't see those veins yesterday."

The Doctor and Rose were lazily tangled in his bed. She was in week ten of the pregnancy, about two weeks after their first kiss. They were doing a lot of that lately. Neither had said anything about the complicated relationship just yet. Both liked how things were going and didn't want a serious conversation to ruin it. So, they were going with whatever felt right in the moment. At that moment, it felt right to walk his fingers down her skin, making her giggle.

"That's what happens, Rose. Veins become more visible. Your blood supply has increased by twenty to forty percent."

"Aren't you a wealth of knowledge?" she smirked as a hand went to her pounding head. "Does that have anything to do with these ridiculous headaches?"

"You are brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. It certainly does. This child is going to be the smartest man in the universe!"

"Well, Mum said it's going to be a girl."

He scoffed. "I say it's going to be a boy. What do you think?"

"I don't know. They'll be something else no matter what they are."

"Quite right. _He_ is our child."

After a comfortable silence, she smiled mischievously at him. "You know…I could really go for a banana peanut butter sandwich with chips."

"But peanut butter made you run to the toilet yesterday," he responded confusedly. "Just the smell made you turn green."

"Yeah. Well. I'm craving it today."

"And it won't make you sick?"

Rose thought about it. "I don't think so. I'm _really_ in the mood. Would you mind…?"

Sighing, he untangled himself from her and pointed a finger. "Don't make this my fault if it isn't what you thought."

"I wouldn't make it your fault," she laughed. "Oh…wait. I did that yesterday, didn't I? When I asked for pickle ice cream sundae."

He put his hands in his pockets and cleared his throat. "Yeah. You might have thrown a pillow at me."

"Sorry," she grinned sweetly. "I promise I won't do that again."

"Hormones," he reminded her on his way out. "You'll be a screaming, sobbing, mess at some point. It should be interesting. I like interesting. I don't do well with dull."

She grinned to herself about their predicament. It was everything she had always wanted and then some. When he returned with her order, he plopped beside her and watched in amazement as she started to scarf it down. She paused and looked at him with questioning eyes. "What?"

"You have a little…" he motioned to the corner of his mouth to indicate the blob of peanut butter. Leaning across the plate, he quickly licked it away. "There. Got it."

His face was still very close to hers, so she moved in for the kiss. They went on like that for a while until she really craved the rest of the chips. He smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She set the plate aside and cuddled into his side, looking down at her growing figure. "I'm going to get fat soon, aren't I?"

"Not fat. Just noticeably pregnant."

"Lovely. Rate I've been eating, it's not going to take long. And I've been so tired. I don't want to move at all. I just want to sleep all day."

He mindlessly ran a hand down her arm. "Why don't you do that? Go on. Get some rest."

"Right now? Like this?"

"Like what?"

"You'd be able to sit still while I sleep? I'd think that you'd be terribly bored."

"Well…" he swallowed nervously. "I like staying around while you sleep. And not in a creepy way. That sounded better in my head. Not as voyeuristic."

She laughed. "I think it's sweet."

That made him grin. "Really?"

"Yeah. Really," she paused as she fiddled with his tie. "I like having you around. I sleep better."

"So do I."

Their eyes met. They both felt the temperature rising and their hearts pounding. It wasn't clear who started the kiss, but they both gladly went along with it. Her hands were in his hair and his hands were on her hips. It was getting more involved by the second. She just knew that her hormones were going insane and she loved this Time Lord more than anything. Her fingers undid his tie and tossed it aside. She worked on his buttons as he shrugged off his jacket. He wasn't objecting. In fact, his hands were sliding beneath her shirt and preparing to take it off. That's when she suddenly stopped and pulled back a bit.

"Right," he mumbled awkwardly. "I understand. It's complicated and you're feeling things right now—"

"Doctor, that's not the problem…" she assured him. "You were right."

His brow furrowed in confusion. "Right about what?"

"Peanut butter wasn't a good idea."

She ran to his bathroom and he leaned against his headboard. What was he thinking? They hadn't even talked about their relationship yet and he wanted to…well, he had some colorful ideas. She sounded horrible, so he got up and stood by the door. "Rose? Everything all right? Do you need anything?"

"Ginger beer."

He went into her room, since he installed a cooler for her morning sickness, and returned with a glass. When he got into the loo, she smiled shamefacedly. "Doctor, um…you need a new bath mat…"

"New bath mat," he repeated slowly.

"Sorry."

He held up his hand. "It's quite all right."

"And."

"Yes?"

"You might need a new robe…"

The Doctor smirked. "Just put them in the bin. No problems there."

After digging through boxes and the wardrobe room, he found some temporary replacements. Rose had crawled back into his bed and appeared to be napping. Tiptoeing, he placed a kiss on her temple. She grinned. "Doctor."

"Rose," he exclaimed with a start. "I thought that you were sleeping."

"No…" she yawned. "Almost. Can I ask you something?"

Grimacing, he knew what it was about. "Sure."

"We were about to—"

"Oh yes."

"And you wanted to—"

"Yes. And you wanted—"

"Yes."

The Doctor slowly nodded. "I see."

"If I hadn't had the peanut butter, we'd be…right now."

"That is correct."

"Well," she spoke in surprise. "Next time I'll make sure I haven't had any peanut butter."

He flustered. "Next time? There's going to be a next time?"  
She frowned at that. "You don't want—"

"That isn't what I'm saying."

"Then where's the problem?"

"There isn't one. I was just. Surprised. That you'd want—"

"Yeah."

"Well."

"I know…" she agreed. They were silent for a moment. "What are we doing?"

The Doctor rubbed his forehead. "What do you mean?"

"This. Us. Everything."

He wasn't sure where to start. He knew what he wanted, but he was worried about what was the right course of action. Though he had been in love with her since he wore a leather jacket, he couldn't help thinking about all of the possibilities.

During his thought process, Rose was losing patience. She loved him and she always had. She wasn't worried about anything. They already made a great team and clearly an even better couple. There was no reason to be cautious, so she was going to go for it.

"Doctor, can we be honest for five seconds?"

"All right."

"I'm really glad this baby is yours."

His face lit up like Father Christmas. "I'm really glad it's yours, Rose Tyler. I wouldn't want it any other way."

"Is that because I'm your best mate or because you're secretly in love with me?"

"Blimey," he muttered. "You really should warn people when you ask questions like that! You just drop them like you're asking for the time. At least say, _Doctor, this is a serious question_. Is that so hard? Just those few words?"

She folded her arms. "I'm about to have a hormone attack if you don't answer my question."

"All right! Don't do that…" he took a deep breath. "I don't think the answer needs saying."

"You'd be wrong."

He groaned and gestured empathically. "I'm not good at this! I'm a Time Lord! After nine hundred plus years, you really think it's easy for me to admit that I love someone? I've known so many people. I get my heart broken. Well, both of my hearts. I'm sorry. So sorry. But, I'm rubbish at human emotions."

"Get over it, mate. Obviously, you do feel something or we wouldn't be snogging every five seconds. We know we're the stuff of legends, you and me. I don't see why we aren't together."

"What if something so terrible happens you can't stand to stay on the TARDIS? Then you'll have to go and take our child with you. I can't handle that. I've lost so many people, Rose. They all leave or I have to leave them behind. Not to mention that I burned my entire planet. I burned with it, but you brought me back. Made me better. I can't imagine what I'd be like without you here. And that has nothing to do with the baby. That's a whole other complication. Maybe everything looks fine now, but things have a way of going wrong."

"Are you even listening to yourself? I won't leave you. You should know that by now. There's nothing you could do to get rid of me, and I do mean nothing. And if something does go wrong, I'll come back. I always have and I always will. I'm not those other people, Doctor. I said forever and I meant it. I love you. "

He did a double take. "You love me?"

"Are you thick? Of course I do. Can we please _try_, Doctor? It's better to try and fail miserably than to wonder what might have happened. That, and I seriously will go barmy if we go back to being mates. I'm already losing my head 'cause of the kid in me."

After an excoriating moment for Rose and internal deliberation for the Doctor, he gave her a soft smile. "I'd like very much to give us a go, Rose Tyler."

She smiled and then pulled a serious face. "You never said if you love me or not."

"I think I did."

"Nice try. You implied it, but you didn't say it. Might as well get it over with. I'll just nag and nag until you answer me."

He huffed and quietly whispered the three words into her ear. She beamed and kissed him briefly. His brow knit as she got up and started for the console room.

"Where are you going?"

"Calling my mum."

"Why?"

"She sort of wanted us to do this. She'll be happy to hear it. Might even want us to stop by."

He frowned gravely. "Tell her we'll stop by when our child is full grown."

"You'll have to get used to her. She's practically your mother-in-law."

"That is disturbing. That is really, really disturbing…"

The Doctor listened to her giggles as she left, smiling wider than he had ever smiled.


	7. Chapter 7

"Rose. Rose. _Rose. Rose Tyler. Rooose_," the Doctor whispered into her neck. "Wake up."

She stirred slightly and yawned, happy that week thirteen brought no morning sickness. It wasn't rare for her to get sick later in the day, but at least she didn't have to leap out of bed every morning…the bed she now shared with the Doctor in _their_ room.

"What?" she asked groggily. "What is it?"

"You slept through the alarm clock. Again."

She grumbled and burrowed into the blankets further. "Uh-huh. That's nice."

"Rose. Rose. _Rose_—"

"_What_?"

He grinned widely. "Hello."

"Hi…" she smiled hazily and glanced down at her huge baby bump. "Doctor, I have news for you."

That got his attention. "News? What kind of news?"

"What we did last night…it might have gotten me pregnant."

"Blimey, are you sure?"

She nodded against his chest. "I'm afraid so. Just look at me."

"Well, that is something."

"Isn't it? Hope this wasn't too big of a shock."

He maintained his serious expression. "It was, actually. Quite a shock. I had no idea we'd wake up expecting. And after one night together."

"More like six or seven by now."

"Eight, but who's counting?"

Their eyes locked and they burst into fits of giggles. She pointed at him. "I'm impressed. Not even a smirk! I was sure that I'd get you to laugh before now."

"You faired quite well yourself. You're a professional."

She made a grand gesture. "A-thank you."

He pecked her on the forehead and placed a hand on her bump. "Good morning, little one."

"D'you notice how big I am? I look like I could deliver any day and I'm not even out of the first trimester. Is that a Gallifreyan thing? Being bigger? Or does this just mean that I have one huge baby?"

He chuckled. "I don't know, actually. You're due for your next checkup, so why don't we do that?"

"Right now?"

"No. Certainly not now. I'm comfortable," he snuggled closer and flicked his tongue across her jaw. "_Very_ comfortable."

Once they were awake and ready to move, which was much later, they went to the medical bay and he prepped a few tests. He did a few routine scans to make sure Rose was healthy, and then he decided to do tests pertaining to their child. She leapt at the cold goop on her tummy, and then waited for the Doctor to do whatever it was he was doing.

"First things first. Would you like to hear our baby's heartbeat?"

She grinned. "I would."

"Allons-y," he smiled as he applied the tool. They listened and both frowned at the rhythm. "That's not…"

"Is that in beats of three?"

"Beats of six," he answered unsurely. "I'd expect two for the human heart or four for a Time Lord, but six? That can't be right."

"Is something wrong?" she squeaked, growing panicked. "Doctor, is something the matter?"

He shook his head. "I don't think so. It sounds all right. Not a murmur. It's just…six different noises. Let's do an ultrasound."

Turning the screen so they could both see, he applied a different tool and they watched as the first images of their baby appeared. A hand went to her mouth and he was in shock.

"Rose…" he began in amazement. "We're having twins."

"Twins," she repeated as she looked at the two separate fetuses. "How is that possible? They said I was having _a _child. Singular."

"It must have split. That happens later on in Gallifreyan pregnancy than human pregnancy. But, twins are really rare. I'd bet that when they sped up the process they accidentally increased the chances," he responded. "Twins. _Twins_. We're having _two_."

"Does that mean that their heartbeat is in patterns of three? That's why there are six. And that's why I'm so bloody huge."

He had to sit down. "Well, I suppose that in combining our species, the baby…babies…have one and a half human hearts. Instead of just having one or two, it was split right down the middle."

"Okay…" she responded unsurely. "And you said that's fine?"

"Yes, it appears to be functioning properly."

They sat in silence for a moment and stared at the image. "Twins," Rose said again. "_Twins_."

"Two children. Not one. Two. That means we need two of everything."

"That means twice the trouble."

The Doctor suddenly grinned. "But you do know what this means?"

She shrugged. "Um…two kids?"

"Yes, but Rose. Think about it. We couldn't have children any other way. It'd be impossible. The one time we end up in a lab, the one time we could ever conceive a child, we get two. Before, we'd only have one. That'd be it. No more. No siblings. An only child. But now…they'll have a brother or sister. How lucky is that? It's a freak occurrence. A fantastic freak occurrence. Two children for the price of one! Go to a lab, get one free! Ha! This is brilliant!"

Rose hadn't thought of it that way. Tears welled in her eyes and she smiled. "Two little ones."

"We have shopping to do," he proclaimed as he helped her off the table. "Loads and loads of shopping. Two cots, two changing tables, two of it all! Get yourself ready, Rose. Comfortable shoes, comfortable clothes. We are going to the biggest mall in the universe! If I can dig out my old emergency credit card…"

She folded her arms. "Why haven't you mentioned this credit card before?"

"It's an _emergency _credit card. For _emergencies _only. I'd say two of our offspring counts as an emergency, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah, but I'd say that needing new shoes is also an emergency."

"It is not."

"It is if you're a woman and nothing goes with your outfit!"

"Well, the universe won't end because someone's shoes clash with their outfit. Just look at me. White trainers and a pinstripe suit. Universe? Not ending."

They squabbled all of the way to the mall about what qualified as an emergency for credit card usage. Once they stepped into the mall, all was forgotten and they linked hands. Slowly, they ambled through shoppers of all species to find the baby supply shops. Eventually, they found it and wandered inside.

"This is unbelievable!" Rose exclaimed as she gripped his arm. "Just look at all of the things. They have everything we need."

"Yep. That's the idea. Shall we start with furniture?"

Upon reaching the cribs, Rose thought of something. "We don't know whether to buy for boys or girls. Maybe we should have waited."

"No, we should get this out of the way. Take the rest of the time relaxing. We'll just go neutral. I think yellow."

"Yellow?"

"Well, you're pink and yellow. Can't do pink. Not yet, at least. So, yellow it is."

She frowned. "How will we tell them apart? What if they're so identical we mix them up all the time?"

"So we'll go with yellow and something else neutral. What else is neutral?"

Her eyes drifted to a crib with a list of style options. "White like the lettering on the TARDIS. This one comes in both yellow and white."

"Brilliant. C'mon, shop shop shop!"

Once they were finished with the furniture, they went to look at clothes. The Doctor held up a yellow jumper for newborns with a big grin. "Rose, look at this. It's so _tiny_. I feel like a giant!"

She held up a similar one that was clearly for an alien. "You think that's something? Look at this one. It's for an octopus."

He chuckled and his eyes lit up. "Toys!"

Rose shook her head as he ran towards the toy section. "I'm going to have _three_ children, I swear."

She kept shopping for clothes and wandered off to find the Doctor. He was in the toy aisle with seven or eight toys all around him, clearly playing make believe. She smirked and waited to be noticed. When he glanced up, he smiled embarrassedly. "Well, hello. I was just testing them. Making sure they were safe and enjoyable."

"Right, testing them. You never told me that you like playing with toys."

"Who doesn't like toys? You are never too old for toys, Rose. I'm over nine hundred years old. I don't care. I've got an idea! Here, you be the stuffed cyborg and the ducky. I'll be the puppy and the Ood baby."

He thrust the toys into her hands and she laughed. "I can't exactly sit on the floor with you. Got two kids in me."

In an instant, he popped up and held out his chosen toys. "Now, before you came here there was a big argument. The cyborg says that the puppy ate his hot dog and the ducky thinks that the Ood baby stole his banana. They are all very cross with one another. Oh, and my puppy is Scottish, so he has an accent. Ready to begin?"

She couldn't stop smiling. "Can my ducky be Irish?"

They played for almost thirty minutes, getting many stares from the customers and staff. Somewhere in the middle of the game, the ducky went from being Irish to Indian and the cyborg decided to marry the puppy despite the hot dog drama. After that, they went to the front and got help accumulating all of their purchases. It was clear that dragging them through the mall wouldn't work, so the Doctor ran to the TARDIS and parked it out front.

That night, he set up the nursery furniture while Rose sorted the clothes by outfit and size. They climbed into bed exhausted. Rose couldn't sleep and decided to pay back the Doctor for that morning. "Doctor. Doctor. _Doctor. _Doccccctor."

He opened one eye. "What?"

"Hello."

"Hello," he smirked in response.

"I have news."

"Let me guess…you're pregnant?"

She rolled her eyes. "I already told you that this morning. I have different news."

"Really?"

"I saw the Doctor today."

He nodded slowly, seeing where this was going. "Did you? I'd imagine that he's a clever and attractive bloke."

"Eh."

"Eh? _Eh_? That's all?"

"Shut up. I'm only messing with you. You're not letting me tell you the news."

"All right, what's the news?"

"We're having twins."

The Doctor pretended to be shocked. "Are you joking? We're having two?"

"Yep. Two. Just thought that I'd tell you."

"Quite right too. I had no idea whatsoever. Now, you should get your sleep while you can, Rose Tyler. One baby is hard. I hear that two at once is just mental."

She kissed his check and set her head on his shoulder. "Two of us, two of them. I'd say we're even."


	8. Chapter 8

Three weeks went by quickly. They were sightseeing and saving the universe, just like they always had. Of course, he was much more protective of Rose than he usually was. She almost gave him a heart attack when she got into a scuffle with an unfriendly robot, but she had everything under control. Still, since then he made them stay inside the TARDIS for a week already.

She was very concerned about him.

"Mum, I think the Doctor has gone mad…" she whispered into her phone as she observed the Doctor fluttering about the kitchen. "He's in a frilly apron. One with lace 'round the edges. He's humming and has insisted on making a fancy breakfast. The man has been watching cooking shows all week. I think that he's gone…domestic."

"Domestic? Oh dear. That sounds serious."

"I know. What should I do? Should I call someone, like a psychologist?"

Her mother cackled. "Please. A lifetime of treatment couldn't cure the Doctor. He's a bit mental. Always has been and always will be. Just talk to him. I'm sure he's fine."

"But he's making asparagus and mushroom frittatas, Mum. And not just mushrooms. He called them _porcini_ mushrooms. They have more zip, apparently. And, he mentioned a kipper mousse to go with it all."

"Send him my way. I could use a chef like that."

She groaned. "You don't get it. This is the _Doctor_. He is _never_ like this. What if the pressure of having a girlfriend and two kids has made him lose his mind? We haven't left the TARDIS in a whole week, and he doesn't seem the least bit bothered."

"Maybe he's happy."

Rose smiled at the thought. "Thanks."

"Uh-huh. But seriously, do tell him that he can come over to cook any day of the week."

They said their farewells and Rose timidly wandered into the kitchen. He was humming and switching around pans like a madman. When he noticed her, he grinned brightly and continued to cook furiously.

"Doctor," she called gently as if he were completely insane.

"Yes?"

"Are you all right?"

"Never better. Why?"

She motioned to the craziness. "You're cooking."

"I am! Almost done. Although, I'm not sure why the mousse isn't setting. It's very troubling."

"Are you absolutely sure that you're okay?"

He paused with a smile. "Rose, I'm quite all right."

"But…"

"But what?" he wondered as he put on his brainy specs and carefully examined the kipper mousse.

"You're really scaring me. I thought you hated being domestic."

"Right."

"But that's exactly what you're doing. You're acting like you're Heston Blumenthal but in my grandmother's outfit."

He bobbed his head from side to side. "Well, I can't argue with that. But, I don't mind being _somewhat _domestic. Do you know why?"

"No idea."

"We're on the TARDIS. No carpets. No house. No mortgage. Space beyond the doors. Still traveling. Going anywhere we'd like. It's like settling down without actually settling down. I'm not trapped on the slow path, but I still get the benefits."

"What benefits?"

He smirked smugly. "A family, of course."

Something went _ding_ and he leapt up and down excitedly, rambling about frittatas being ready. She laughed and sat at the table. He set the food down and went through the cupboards, but he didn't find his special finishing salts anywhere. While he went into the pantry, she sampled his food creation. It wasn't bad, but he should stick to building devices and fixing the TARDIS. Rose paused when she felt her stomach flutter. Her hand went to it and the sensation happened again.

"Doctor!"

He came running. "What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. Just give me your hand."

"Why do you need my hand?"

She giggled and took his wrist without answering. Gently, she placed it on her stomach and waited. It fluttered again and his eyes grew wide. She smiled. "That's one of the babies kicking, isn't it?"

"It is indeed," he nodded, feeling it again and again shortly after. "What a kick! It's too often to be just one of them. I think they're both kicking."

"Both rambunctious. It looks like they've got your energy after all."

He chuckled. "And they're feisty like their mother."

"They're going to give us a hard time, aren't they?"

"Of course they are. They're our children."

She grinned and gave him a brief kiss. "So, I snuck a taste of your cooking."

"Did you?" he wondered with a nervous expression. "What do the critics say?"

"I liked it and so did the kids, but promise me you won't be like this too often. You gave me a quite a scare. I was convinced that you had snapped."

He winked. "I like to keep you on your toes, Rose. Besides, I'm trying to stay busy."

"We could have kept traveling."

"No, sorry. This is our time off. No more killer robots for a fortnight. I've gotten quite a bit done this week, you know. And not just achieving culinary excellence."

She studied him carefully. "What have you been up to?"

"Come with me. Breakfast can wait."

He pulled her to her feet and began to lead her through the mazes of the TARDIS. They stopped at a room that she had never been inside. Then again, there were still places that she hadn't seen in the massive box. He opened the door and she went in, surveying the contents.

"Is this a workshop?" she inquired, running a hand across a counter.

"Right you are, Rose. This is my workshop. I've been building. Over here we have mobiles. Exact scale models of your Solar System. They actually have an orbit identical to the movement of the planets around your Sun. Well, it is identical but it's also in scale. In seconds instead of days. Naturally, I made two. Exactly the same. See?" he held it up with a proud smile, winding it with his free hand.

She watched it move around. "That's beautiful. Absolutely beautiful."

"I know. I figured the Solar System would be a good choice. Better than the others. It is part of their human heritage."

"We are going to teach them about Gallifrey, aren't we?"

He got a sad look in his eyes, but he nodded. "They're going to be half Time Lords or Ladies. That's for certain. We'll put Gallifreyan on their cribs when we decide on names. But, there's one more thing I made. Are you ready?"

"Very."

Dramatically, he held up two mini sonic screwdrivers. "Obviously, they won't get these until they're at least two or three. We can't have them escaping their cribs at an early age, can we? Or putting these in their mouths. Swallowing a sonic screwdriver? That wouldn't end well for anyone. I haven't put the bulb in yet, so once we know if we have boys or girls I'll know whether to make it blue or pink. These models have limited abilities compared to mine. I wouldn't want them causing trouble like me early on. Maybe when they hit double digits."

Rose put her arms around his waist excitedly. "You're already a great father."

"You think so?"

"I know it. Any other plans?"

"I might have some ideas. Maybe. But, I'm not telling you until they're finished."

She pouted. "Why won't you tell me? I might be able to help."

"You are very good with the TARDIS…" he hummed, lost in thought. "I could use a hand. What do you say, Rose Tyler? Would you like to work with me?"

"I'd love to. What are we building?"

He leaned in close. "Our very own K-9 _and_ K-9 puppy for the children."

"This is one of the many reasons why I love you."

"Robot dogs?"

"No, you idiot. It's because you're clever."

The Doctor smirked cheekily. "You just called me an idiot and clever in the same statement. Isn't that contradictory?"

"Can we just start on the tin dogs now?"

They worked all day in his workshop, beginning the process of building K-9 and a K-9 puppy. Although they didn't finish K-9, they did finish the K-9 puppy. It was more playful and child-friendly than the adult K-9. The Doctor planned to add learning features, games, and other fun things later on. Rose decided to name it, since it'd be redundant to have two K-9s rolling around the TARDIS. It would be called Powell after the Powell Estate.

"Powell the puppy," the Doctor commented as they got ready for bed. "I like it."

"Will he answer to that?" she wondered.

"Powell, come here boy!" he shouted, grinning when the little thing rolled into their bedroom. "Good dog. Very good dog."

"Affirmative, Master. How can I be of assistance?"

"Go play," Rose commanded.

He barked and spun in a circle. "Yes, Mistress. It is playtime!"

Rose chuckled and crawled into bed, feeling the babies kicking left and right. He joined her and put a hand on her belly, also feeling the restlessness. "Our children are not tired, are they?"

"Like I said, _your _energy."

"Sorry. So sorry."

She merely smirked and kissed him goodnight. "Not a problem, Doctor. I hope that they're just like you."

"Dear Lord, no. They better be your clones. The universe can't handle two little replicas of me. Although, they would make brilliant sous chefs…"

"Still on about this cooking thing?"

"Yep."

Rose smirked wickedly. "Well, if you're in a _somewhat_ domestic mood, why don't we clean the TARDIS tomorrow? Every last bigger-on-the-inside room. And then we can do laundry together. Maybe play a boring board game."

He looked horrified. "I'm not that domestic."

"Or I could teach you how to sew. We can sit around and darn socks."

"Stop it. You're scaring me now."

"Better yet, Mum wants you to come cook for her. We could go there for dinner. Maybe she could be your sous chef! And after dinner, we could watch the weather and discuss her everyday life over tea."

"Maybe we don't have to stay inside the TARDIS for so long…"

She grinned triumphantly. "So we can go somewhere tomorrow?"

"Blimey, if it saves me from that nightmare, we can go anywhere you'd like."

Rose hugged him tightly. "I knew that my Doctor was still in there somewhere. This week has been too normal, even for me. We don't have to get all average just because we've got children on the way."

"Does that mean that I can't cook anymore?"

"You can cook as much as you want. Just lose the grandma apron."


	9. Chapter 9

Rose and the Doctor walked up to Jackie's door. Well, Rose waddled more than walked. It was week twenty and things were going well. Today, they were going to surprise Jackie by including her in the ultrasound. It was time to determine the gender of their twins. The Doctor knocked and Jackie threw open the door, hugging them both in surprise.

"So glad to see you! Just in time for lunch. Doctor, why don't you cook with me?" Jackie suggested.

He attempted to say no, but Jackie had already dragged him to the kitchen and dropped an apron around his neck. He sent Rose a look that was a cry for help, but she didn't do anything to spare him from domestics with her mum. It actually wasn't too bad until they got into an argument over the proper way to cut a carrot. Once they were done with lunch, they sat around and caught up on the last few weeks.

"I have a grand idea," Jackie began with excitement. "Let's pull out the old photo books!"

Rose groaned and hid her face in her hands. "No. No way. The Doctor doesn't want to see pictures of me when I was little."

"Sure I do! They'll be a good comparison for our children. Bring them out, Jackie!"

While she went to get the books, Rose glared. "Really, Doctor?"

"I do want to see them. And it's only fair. You didn't save me from cooking with your mother, so I won't save you from the old pictures."

"Great. This'll be well bad," she grumbled unhappily, remembering the first time Mickey saw the photos. He never let her live it down.

They went to the couch where Jackie squeezed between them. She flipped it open and began to point. "Here's Rose after she was born. That's her in the little pink bundle. Isn't she adorable? And here's Pete with Rose. Such a good photo. This is her when we got back to the flat, sleeping in her crib. And…huh. There are ten different pictures of that. Oh well. That's what mums do. Let's just skip ahead. Ah! Her first steps. She fell and hit her head on the table leg. Hasn't been the same since."

"Mum!" Rose protested. "That is not true."

"Okay, it isn't. It's a fun thing to tell people, though."

The Doctor motioned to a different picture. "What's going on there?"

"Rose decided to shampoo her hair with pasta sauce. She looked ginger for near a month after that. Wouldn't wash out properly. Now, enough with the boring ones. Let's got to the embarrassing ones. I hope your children are just as awkward so that you can do this with them someday!"

Rose glared at her mother and the Doctor. They couldn't stop laughing at the horrid photography, particularly one dreadful school portrait in the mid-nineties. Silently, Rose swore to never do this to her children. When it was finally over, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"That wasn't too bad, was it?" Jackie asked with a smile.

"No. Not at all. It's always fun to remember how horrible you looked as a child. Really, it's just a wonderful feeling."

"You didn't look horrible," the Doctor assured her. "Couldn't if you tried. You just looked silly or ridiculous or incredibly awkward."

"Did you just call me silly, ridiculous, and incredibly awkward?"

"Well, yes, but I did it as a compliment. Honestly, I meant it as…" he paused, looking to Jackie. "You know what I meant. Tell her."

She held up her hands. "Dig your way out of that one on your own, mate. I'll be right back. I have something for you."

Jackie quickly got up and vanished down the hall. The Doctor moved next to Rose and put an arm across her shoulders. She gave him an angry look, so he withdrew his arm with a worried expression. "I'm in the dog house with Powell and K-9, aren't I?"

"Yes."

Jackie reappeared with a small box and held it out to them. "Go on. Open it."

Rose removed the wrapping and the Doctor opened it. Inside, there was a very nice camera. The Doctor held it up with a grin. "Jackie, this camera is brilliant! Best digital photographs in the world. And best film. Shoots video. This must have cost you a fortune."

"Well, not much at all. I've been saving since you told me the news. Do you know how hard it is to buy for an alien in a box? You have one of everything. Well, two of everything with the twins on the way. I figured this way you can take loads of pictures and films. To send to me, of course. I want them on my fridge and all over my house. Might even make another few photo books to show them when they're older."

Rose motioned to her mum. "She's going to be the grandmother that tells random people on the street about her grandchildren."

"You're damn right I am! This is my family. My sweet daughter and her children. And I suppose that you're family too, Doctor. Even if you don't know how to slice carrots."

He was very offended by that. "I know how to cut a carrot, Jackie. And I don't nearly catch pans on fire."

"I didn't catch anything on fire!" she argued.

"_Nearly_. I said _nearly_."

Rose stopped the shouting. "We didn't stop by for a cooking competition. We have a surprise for you, Mum."

"You do? What is it?"

"We're going to the TARDIS for something," Rose explained. "Get your things together."

Jackie eagerly went to fetch a jacket while the Doctor easily hopped off the couch. Rose attempted to get up, but she was much too large and had sunk into the cushions. The Doctor was on his way to the door when she cleared her throat. The Doctor looked over shamefacedly as she scowled.

"Right. Sorry. Forgot to help you up. Not doing well today, am I?"

She held out her hands for him to take. "Nope."

They wandered to the TARDIS and led Jackie to the medical bay. He helped Rose onto the table and turned the screen towards them.

"You're here for an ultrasound, Jackie Tyler. Not just any ultrasound. You tell her, Rose."

"We're going to learn the gender today."

Jackie squealed enthusiastically. "Two girls on the way!"

"Two boys," the Doctor argued.

"Oh really? Do you want to make this interesting?"

Rose put a hand to her forehead. "Don't bet on my children."

"Five quid, Doctor."

He studied her closely. "I'll take your bet, Jackie Tyler…and I raise you five quid."

"Okay, a tenner it is."

The Doctor carefully applied the goop and set the device on Rose's tummy. A grainy image of the two babies appeared. Jackie gripped Rose's hand with joyful tears in her eyes. "Those are my grandchildren. Look at them. Already perfect."

"It is something," Rose agreed. "What are we having, Doctor? Boys or girls?"

He put his glasses on and examined the picture. "Huh."

"What do you mean? Something wrong?" Rose began to panic.

"No. Nothing's wrong. Well, actually one thing is wrong. Me. I owe you ten, Jackie. We're having two girls."

"I knew it!" Jackie shrieked happily.

The Doctor shook his head. "I cannot believe this. I'm over nine hundred years old, incredibly clever, and I was wrong. Not only that, I was proved wrong by a middle-aged human woman. The universe has to be ending."

Jackie folded her arms. "Watch who you're calling _middle-aged_, Doctor."

"How'd you know they'd be girls?" Rose asked through a wide smile. She couldn't help thinking about two little girls and how fantastic that was.

"I'm a mother. We know these things."

Rose gripped the Doctor by the elbow. "Are you sure? How can you tell?"

He smiled brightly and pointed to the screen. "That there is their head. Over here are the feet. So, if you follow the line of the baby, you'll see that there's no….well…"

"Penis," Jackie supplied at the shock and horror of her daughter. "What's that look for, Rose?"

"I just never want to hear you say that ever again…"

Jackie scoffed. "That's a technical term. It's not like I said cock or wang or knob or—"

"Don't. Just don't," she muttered, directing her attention to the Doctor. "We're having girls. I can't believe it. Us. Two little girls."

"I know. I'm going to be outnumbered by Tyler women. Blimey, that'll be something."

"Are you implying something about Tyler women?" Jackie asked in offense.

Rose raised an eyebrow. "Are you?"

After stuttered for a few minutes, he luckily managed to save himself. "I am. That it's absolutely fantastic. I couldn't be happier."

He smiled earnestly and Rose grinned back. They moved in for a passionate snog. Jackie made an _aw _sound, causing them to stop and look at her. "Don't quit on my account, kids."

"Get in here," the Doctor grinned, initiating a group hug. As they embraced, he called in the rest of the family. "K-9, Powell, here boys!"

The robot dogs made their entrance, both wagging their tails. Rose smiled at them. "We're having girls!"

"Congratulations, Mistress and Master!" they spoke in unison, ending with barks and ear wiggling.

Jackie smirked at the curious pets. "Only on the TARDIS."

"Only on the TARDIS," Rose agreed. "Just wait until there are little ones running about. And they will be running. Already practicing. Feel that, Mum."

Rose put her mother's hand on her tummy, and Jackie leapt at the kicks. "They've got the strongest legs! And they won't quit. It's like they're dancing a samba in there. You poor thing."

She nodded to her energetic Time Lord. "It's his fault."

"Is everything my fault?" he pouted.

"Yes," the women agreed.

"Fair enough."


	10. Chapter 10

Rose balanced a bowl of homemade banana ice cream on her baby bump as she paced in the TARDIS kitchen. She had a magazine about raising children in one hand and a spoon in the other. It was the night cycle of the TARDIS, and she was in her twenty-fourth week of pregnancy. She woke with a leg cramp and decided to work it out.

"Rose Tyler, what are you doing out of bed?" the Doctor demanded with a long yawn. She laughed at his awful bedhead and wrinkled jimjams. "What?"

"Your hair is hilarious."

He patted it into place and went to the fridge, digging around for a snack. There wasn't much left, since Rose had been up for an hour and kept eating all that she found. He closed the door and got a spoon, helping himself to some of the ice cream.

"Inventive shelf."

"Thanks. D'you like it?" she grinned, holding her massive stomach with one hand.

"Oh yes. Great balance. I wonder what else you could balance on there."

"We could find out."

The next hour consisted of finding various objects to stack on her belly. Her record was twelve things at once, including his sonic screwdriver. After that got boring, they raided the freezer for more ice cream and sat at the table.

"At this stage in your pregnancy, our children have faces…" he informed her through a mouthful of frozen goodness.

"Faces? So they don't look like tadpoles anymore?"

"Nope. They have eyelashes and eyebrows. Even hair."

She liked that thought. "I wonder what'll look like."

"Like you," he declared smugly.

"You're in this too, you know."

"Well, yes, but I think they'll look mostly like you."

"I think you're wrong. You aren't the only one that's been reading books. I've read quite a bit on genetics."

He raised an eyebrow. "Really? What have you discovered?"

"There are two kinds of pigments when it comes to hair: eumelanin and pheomelanin. Eumelanin is the dark and pheomelanin is the light. My hair is blond and that's a recessive thing, while your hair is brown and that's a dominant thing. So chances are they'll have more eumelanin in them. That means that they'll have your hair. We both have brownish eyes, so that's pretty much a given."

"I'm impressed," he smiled. "But, I challenge you."

She smirked. "Challenge? I like where this is going."

"You're blond and your mother is blond and your father was a blondish ginger. All that blond clearly says that your genetics entail no eumelanin. Our kids will be blond or something else light."

"You just want them to be ginger."

He bobbed his head from side to side. "Well, yes. That'd be brilliant. But I'm telling you that they'll be blonds just like you."

"Want to make this interesting?"

"Now look who's wanting to bet on the children."

She took a spoonful of ice cream with a shrug. "I wouldn't bet if I didn't think that I'd win. I have something better than money. Diaper duty for a week. All on the loser."

"You are so on, Rose."

They finished eating and he forced her to get back into bed, but she would only agree if he gave her a back massage. It was killing her from the extra weight. They sat on their bed cross-legged as his fingers got to work.

"Now that we know the gender, we can talk about names…" Rose commented, sighing happily at his nimble hands.

"Right. The names. We should talk about that."

"Do you have a last name we can give them?"

"No. I was actually thinking that they should be Tylers. Let the name live on with them."

"It won't for too long. Someday, they'll get married and take his."

He scowled. "Nope. No one is marrying our daughters. I will not allow that."

"Oh no. You're one of those dads."

"I am indeed. Nobody will ever be good enough for them."

She smiled. "Of course they won't. But, we really should figure out what to call them before deciding on their future marital status, don't you think?"

"Well…I have given it some thought."

Rose waited for him to continue, but he didn't. She leaned into his hands, reminding him playfully, "That's when you're supposed to share your ideas, Doctor."

"Right. Idea sharing. Brainstorming. It's a big responsibility. Naming a child. They'll be stuck with that name forever. What if it's a bad name? What if they don't like it or it's not their personality?"

She smirked at his adorable expression. "Relax. They'll be fine. If they don't like it, they can change it. You did. Your name isn't really the Doctor."

"That's a good point…"

"Now, what did you have in mind?"

He hummed thoughtfully. "I have a first name."

"What is it?"

"Sarah. After Sarah Jane."

Rose considered it. "Sarah Tyler. I like it. It's kind of classic."

"You're sure? We can name one after Sarah Jane?"

"Yeah. She's not bad at all. Oh, I just thought of something. Two girls to name and two names each, first and middle. Why don't we each pick one first name and one middle name? It's only fair."

He smirked at her problem solving. "Good idea. One is named Sarah. That's my final answer."

"Okay, so I get to pick the other…" she trailed off and considered the options. "How about Hannah? Sarah and Hannah. Kind of go together, don't they?"

"Yes, they do. Sarah and Hannah. Hannah and Sarah. Sarah Tyler and Hannah Tyler. Fantastic."

She grinned happily. "I know. It's perfect."

"It is. No arguments here. But, I think that you should get some sleep now," he suggested upon checking the time. "It's getting late. We've been up for hours."

She groaned. "I'm not _tired_. And we haven't talked about middle names."

"Fine, we'll talk about that and then you sleep. And we're only talking if you're in bed."

He helped her navigate the bed and get beneath the sheets. Although he had enough sleep for the day, he got in next to her to finish their discussion. She was biting her lower lip in concentration.

"Doctor, what's your real name?"

"It doesn't matter. I'm the Doctor and that's that."

She pouted. "I wanted to name one of the children after you."

"It could be something like Sarah Doctoretta or Doctorina."

That got her giggling like crazy. "I'm serious. Maybe there's a feminine version of your real name we could use."

"Trust me when I say that there isn't. You'd be better off with Doctorizabeth."

"Doctorizabeth. How fetching."

"It's almost as good as Doctorbelle."

She had to laugh. "Well, I guess that idea is out. With no offense to your creative suggestions, of course. How about after Mum, then? Jaclyn, but not spelled the same way as Mum. J-A-C-L-Y-N."

"For which one? Sarah or Hannah?"

"Sarah. Sarah Jaclyn Tyler."

He smiled joyfully. "It's great."

She kissed him softly and settled down against his side. "Your turn to pick as long as you don't name her something like Hannah Banana or Hannah Doctorliza."

"You shouldn't have said that," he groaned. "Hannah Banana is wonderful. Now I want to use it."

"Would you really do that to a defenseless child?"

He paused to think about it. "No, I guess not. But that's her official nickname."

"Works for me. How about middle?"

After a beat, he announced, "Rosaline. Hannah Rosaline Tyler."

"Rosaline?"

"After you. Rosaline means beautiful rose."

She momentarily forgot how to breathe. They kissed for some time and then said goodnight. It was just a few hours later when it was time to get up. She didn't want to move, so she didn't. The Doctor was missing in action. K-9 entered their room with a breakfast tray balanced on his back. "Good morning, Mistress! Breakfast in bed?"

"Affirmative," she chuckled, taking the tray and patting him on the head. "Good boy."

"Thank you, Mistress!"

When the Doctor arrived, he was fully dressed and had his head buried in a book. She didn't notice, as she was far too busy contemplating the sudden change of her belly button into an outtie. He got onto the bed and turned a page, studying it closely. She glanced over.

"Good morning. Fabulous breakfast. What is in that crepe?"

"Fruit and a secret sauce. My own recipe. Did you know that the babies can hear loud noises now?" he asked as he slammed the book shut and sprawled on the bed, holding his mouth close to her tummy. "Hello, Hannah! Hello, Sarah! It's your dad! Can you hear me in there?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "They won't know what you're saying."

"Of course they will. They're Time Ladies. Very quick learners," he retorted, returning to his shouting. "It's your dad! We've picked your names: Hannah Rosaline and Sarah Jaclyn! That's what we're going to call you. Do you like that?"

The babies started kicking and her eyes grew wide. "They started kicking like they understood you."

"Like I said, quick learners. That'll be interesting. We've probably got to invent a new locking system on their cribs. They might be escape artists. Or, they might build their own sonic screwdrivers in the middle of the night."

"Please," she cackled.

He smirked. "I built my first sonic device when I was in nursery from my toy box."

"We should probably invent a new locking system, then…"

"Yeah. Probably."


	11. Chapter 11

"Stop yelling at me!" the Doctor shouted as he stood on one side of their bed.

"You stop yelling at me!" Rose shot back from the other side.

"I'm not the one that started this, am I? You're the one that went off about the bloody throw pillows."

"You don't put them on the bed!"

"I do when I remember!"

"You _never_ remember!"

He groaned. "They aren't a necessity, Rose. I don't remember because we don't need them. We just toss them on the floor at the end of the day anyway. I made the bed, though. See? Bed is made."

"After I told you to."

"What do you want me to say?"

She thought about it, but she couldn't think of anything. He held up his hands and decided to just leave her alone for a while. It was week twenty-eight, the start of her third trimester. It had been hell. She was on more hormone rampages that week than the rest of the pregnancy combined.

Once, she started a row over his tendency to hog the sheets. Another time, she sobbed uncontrollably because she dropped a fork and couldn't bend to pick it up. He tried his best to ride the wave, but it was too much that day.

He retreated to nursery, a place he often went when they weren't getting along. Humming happily, he tweaked the Gallifreyan lettering on the cribs with a craving tool. Once that was done, he messed with the mobiles and the locks. He triple checked the safety proofing in the room, and then he sat down on one of the rockers to read some of the children's books they had purchased. He wanted to practice different accents to keep things interesting.

His dramatic reading was interrupted when Powell rolled through the doggie door. He went beneath the Doctor's feet with sad ears. The Doctor set the book aside and gingerly picked up the small robot.

"What's wrong, boy?"

"Mistress is upset."

"Why? What's she doing?"

"She is watching a film in the movie room with K-9. She is crying profusely."

He hummed thoughtfully, wondering what might have set her off. "Is it the film or is me? Should I break out the oven mitts?"

"Unknown cause."

"Thanks, Powell. Good dog. Stay here. Hide under the cot if you'd like. You know, just in case."

"Affirmative, Master."

The dog went under the cot and he prepared himself for the worst. When he entered the movie room, K-9 was supplying tissues and Rose was bawling at some film. He knocked lightly.

"Rose?"

She looked at him with teary eyes. "Doctor, I've gone bonkers. Look at me! I'm a mess."

He joined her on the couch and placed an arm around her. She kept crying and he looked at the film more closely. "Are you crying at a documentary about the rainforest?"

"They're cutting down trees and these little birds were left without a home. Not to mention the poor monkeys. Have you seen the monkeys?"

"I've seen the monkeys. Why don't we watch a happy film? Maybe cartoons?"

She sniffed. "That might be nice…"

He used his sonic screwdriver to change it to a cartoon about dogs and cats becoming friends. She started to cry again and he blinked in confusion. "What's wrong now?"

"It's so sweet."

"Oh, so those are happy tears?"

"Yes…" she paused and sobbed harder. "I hate these hormone attacks!"

"Just keep it together a little longer."

She looked at him sadly. "I'm doing the best I can. I don't even know why I get cross about stupid things. I hate the throw pillows."

"Then why did you yell at me about them?"

"Honestly? I haven't the slightest idea."

He started to laugh and she hit him at first. That made him laugh harder and she suddenly joined in. They laughed for five minutes straight until they had to catch their breath. She leaned against him with a sigh.

"I'm lucky to have you, Doctor. Thanks for being so understanding."

"You're very welcome. Although, you've scared the puppy to death. He's hiding in the nursery."

"Oh no," she whispered, giggling. "I am pretty scary right now, aren't I?"

"Pretty scary? No, not scary. Just the other part."

"Stop flirting."

"What? Flirting? I wasn't flirting."

"You so were! You were being sweet. Don't do that. I'll start crying again."

He frowned. "So you don't want me to be sweet. How about nice?"

"No. But not mean either. I'll start yelling and _then _I'll start crying."

"So…not nice, sweet, or mean. How about apathetic?"

"No. You'll seem uninterested and I'll become worried that you don't love me and I'll—"

"Start crying," he provided. "Maybe I should just leave you to the film."

Her eyes grew wide. "Why?"

"Well, if I stay, it sounds like you're going to cry."

"But if you go I will."

His fingertips went to his forehead. "Okay…just tell me what to do."

"Pass the tissue box and rewind the cat film. Be ready for tears into your shoulder."

He smirked and hit the rewind button while K-9 passed the tissue box. They watched the entire cartoon as she cried into his shirt, and once it was over she was thankfully all cried out. He helped her into bed and disposed of the awful throw pillows before climbing in beside her. She kissed him lightly.

"Sorry about today."

"Don't say sorry. It's not your fault. Biology is to blame."

She webbed her fingers with his, whispering, "What's happening with our children now?"

"How do you mean?"

"Developmentally."

He grinned. "They're dreaming."

"Dreaming? Like we dream?"

His head nodded and he put his other hand on her baby bump. "They can go into REM now. Actual dreams. Isn't that something? I wonder what they dream about. We take things from our everyday life to create our dreams. So, do they just dream about the womb and their sibling? Or do they somehow dream of something more?"

"I think it's something more. The whole universe. What is, what was, what could be, what must not…that's how you see the world. I bet that's how they see it too."

He grimaced. "I hope not. It's not the best."

"But it makes you who you are. They shouldn't be all human, you know. They should have Gallifrey in them. They won't be alone in that and neither will you."

"Don't do that."

She glared. "Do what?"

"Say that. You're going to make _me _cry. I don't cry. I'm a manly man with manly man hands."

"You're a softy at hearts. You know you are."

He smirked and thought about it. "Well…maybe a bit. Just a bit. But don't mistake that for nice. I'm not nice."

"Right. You're ruthless. The Oncoming Storm."

"And you're unstoppable. The Bad Wolf."

"Does that mean that we're having pups instead of babies?"

"Well, we did call them wolf-dogs…"

They held their serious faces for a moment and then died with laughter. She settled down beside him with her head on his shoulder and his arm around her, drifting into a light sleep. It didn't last long, since their kids decided to dance in the middle of the night. The kicks made her wake up every thirty minutes, setting the stage for another day full of hormone attacks and sleep deprivation. The Doctor woke well rested, sighing when the shouting started.

"Did you leave the seat up?"

"Blimey, here we go…" he muttered.

They couldn't wait for the pregnancy to be over.


	12. Chapter 12

"Mr. Teddy, we have to trudge onward through the Duvet Desert!" the Doctor declared from his place on the bedroom floor.

Rose cracked open an eye. She was trying to take a nap on their bed, but his voice woke her. She couldn't see him. "Doctor?"

The head of a teddy bear appeared at the edge of a bed followed by the head of a plush Ood. The toys looked at each other and sunk slowly out of view. She chuckled as a different teddy bear and a Hath did the same thing. They did a little dance, and she couldn't stop laughing. It was like a puppet show. She could see his fingers gripping the toys and hear him humming background music.

"Doctor, what are you doing?"

"Doctor? Who's he?" the Doctor's high pitched voice replied.

"I don't know, Miss Teddy. Must be someone really great," he answered himself in a deep voice.

"Blubblublub…" he gargled as the Hath.

"I agree with Mr. Hath. He _must _be clever! Let's scale the wall to the desert."

Gradually, the toys were tossed onto the bed. Rose caught Mr. Teddy and giggled as the Doctor's head appeared. He crawled onto the bed, collecting the toys. He made them walk across the duvet on their treacherous journey, providing dialogue.

"We must make it to see the goddess!" the Ood declared.

"Yes, we must!" agreed Miss Teddy.

"Blublbulbulbublbublbgargle," the Hath commented, causing the others to laugh.

The Ood looked over. "But what does Mr. Teddy think?"

Rose held it up. "Yes, we must make haste!"

"What's happened to your accent, Mr. Teddy?" Miss Teddy wondered.

"Ey, me-ah accent-ey is fine-ey! Who wants-ah pasta sauce-ah?"

The Doctor smirked, breaking character. "Italian? That's your Italian accent? And here I thought your Scottish accent was awful."

"Belt up. You can't just throw me under the bus like that."

"It's called _improvisation_, Rose."

She scowled. "Just get on with the play-pretend, you man-child."

"Oh no! We've come to the Mountain of TimeTwins!" the Ood cried. "We must scale it!"

Gently, the toys scaled her large stomach and stood atop the mountain. "We did it!" the toys cheered. "We claim the Mountain of TimeTwins for toy kind! To the goddess!"

The toys walked up her body and gave her kisses on her neck and face. He followed, flicking his tongue across her neck and earlobe. He kissed her and instantly went back to the game with his toys, going on about new adventures. She started to laugh.

Stopping the playtime, he stared. "What?"

"You're going to play with the toys more than the children."

"I'm only rehearsing."

"Rehearsing?" she repeated with a confused expression.

He sprawled out the wrong way on their bed, situating his head between her baby bump and chest. "Well, yes. I haven't been a father in a very, very long time. Not to mention that I'm much older now and a lot has changed. I have to admit that I'm concerned."

"About what?"

"What if I'm not a good dad anymore?"

She smiled and took his hand. "It's not something you unlearn, Doctor. You are or you aren't. And I know that you are. Don't bother worrying."

"How am I going to tell our girls, the last children of Gallifrey, that _I_ was the one to destroy it? That they'll never really know where we came from?"

"They'll understand. I did. Besides, you're going to be their dad. You could blow up half the universe and they'll love you all the same. There's just something about a father and daughter relationship. But don't actually blow up half the universe to prove my point."

He grinned, feeling much better. "Thank you, Rose."

"Don't mention it. I expect you'll do the same when I start to panic about being a mum."

"I'm looking forward to it."

At that point, she went back to trying to nap and he had this third conversation with the TimeTwins that day. "Hello in there. Your dad again. Don't worry. I'm not reading history books or mathematical formulas this time."

"Thank the stars for that," Rose commented with a small yawn. "My head hurt for an hour after all those numbers."

"Yes, I know. You've said that. It'll help make them smarter."

"They're already going to be too clever for their own good. What if you make them so smart they take over the TARDIS as we sleep?"

He scoffed. "Please. They won't be tall enough to reach the console for at least six to seven years. And that's pushing it."

"They could pull over something to stand on."

That made him grimace. "Maybe we should glue everything down to be on the safe side."

"They could stand on each other's shoulders. You want to glue them down too?"  
She laughed as he pondered. "Oh no. They'll band against us. They might start a revolution. What'll we do then?"

"Fight back, Time Lord. We're too stubborn. No one gets the drop on us."

"That is true. We've beaten Daleks, Cybermen, werewolves, cat nuns, televisions, living mannequins, humans with zippers about their heads, zombies, possessed Ood…"

"Don't forget the bat things in that school."

"Right. Can't forget those," he chuckled. "Surely two children won't be a problem."

She smiled. "It won't be easy. Crying all night, vomiting, dirty diapers…and that's just as babies. Wait until they're teenagers. If they're anything like I was, we'll have our hands full. That reminds me, Doctor, what are we going to do about getting them with other children? They need to be social."

He hummed. "That might be an issue. They're not going to be like most children. I think that we should wait until they're older before putting them with normal humans or everyone might find them to be a bit weird. We could get them with famous child prodigies like Mozart or Picasso or Shirley Temple, though. They'll be great musicians, artists, and actors!"

"We'll see about that. I guess it'd work. I just don't want them to be socially awkward. Mum would have a field day with the photographs."

"Like that one school portrait where you had that dreadful hair and that ridiculous shirt! Oh, and that huge necklace with the big beads—"

"Keep talking, mate. I'm _very_ close to a hormone rampage."

He smiled nervously. "Lovely photograph. Really. Very becoming."

"Right. Nice try."

They chuckled and he moved to her side, pulling her into his arms for a nap. It wasn't ten minutes later when she winced. He looked at her worriedly. "Rose?"

"Nothing. Just felt a twinge. Probably a muscle cramp."

It happened again, but it was worse. Her hands went to her stomach and she cringed. It passed and she took a deep breath. The Doctor was sitting up and on alert, watching her closely. She tried to give him a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. Really. Maybe I ate something that didn't agree with us."

When it happened yet again, it was even worse. He got up instantly. "That's it. We're going to the medical bay. Can you walk?"

She couldn't answer from the pain, so he shakily scooped her up. He almost dropped her from the weight, but his adrenaline had kicked in and he made the short journey down the hall. She was on the bed and he was in work mode. He tried to ignore the fact that if the babies were lost, he'd not only lose his children but Rose as well.

He got to work running tests. Rose was panicking, as could be expected. "Doctor, I'm only at thirty-two weeks. I can't be having our girls now."

"Relax, Rose. Trust me."

That calmed her down somewhat. She knew the Doctor wouldn't let anything bad happen to her or their daughters. He hummed thoughtfully and took her hand. "Can you do something for me?"

"_Now_?!"

"Yes, now. Stand up."

Shakily, she stood up as he supported her. After a few minutes, she was feeling slightly better. She looked at him curiously. "What's going on with me?"

"Braxton Hicks. It happens to a lot of women. They're just the sporadic uterine contractions. Completely harmless. Nothing bad is happening. Well, other than the pain. They'll go away."

"So I'm all right?"

He grinned. "Quite. You might be dehydrated or in need of relaxation. Follow me."

She smirked as he led her back to their bedroom, ordering her to wait. When he returned, he handed her a tall glass of water and vanished into their bathroom. She drank the water, awaiting further instructions. He came back with a mischievous expression. "Okay, Rose Tyler. Lose the clothes. You're having a warm bath. And make sure you do some relaxing breathing while you're in there."

"A bath?" she answered unsurely. "I don't know if I can sit still after that excitement."

"But you must. There are bubbles…"

That swayed her enough, but she paused when she got to the doorway. "Well?"

"What?"

"Lose the clothes, Doctor. You're joining me in the bath."

"But I don't know if I can sit still."

She scoffed. "There are bubbles. And me."

"All right, I'll join…but only if I can rehearse with the rubber ducks."

"Only if I get to rehearse with the mermaids."

That brought a smile to his face as he tossed his suit coat on the bed. "You drive a hard bargain, but I gladly accept."


	13. Chapter 13

Week thirty-seven. She'd be due in just a few weeks. The Doctor kept checking and rechecking to make sure that everything was on track. She had to politely tell him to stop giving her checkups after the fourth one. Reluctantly, he decided to run around the TARDIS with K-9 all day instead. They'd do this or that to the nursery or tinker with the medical equipment. He had put child safety equipment on everything. Surprisingly, Rose was the calm one…for now.

"Oi, Doctor. Why'd you have to put a lock on the cupboards?" she called down the hall while struggling with the door.

He appeared with his glasses on the tip of his nose, clearly distracted. "Hmm?"

She tugged on the cupboard. "I can't open it. They won't even be able to reach this high for another few years. You've gone barmy."

"I'm being _careful_, Rose. See, you just do this…" he did a complicated maneuver and the door magically opened. "What do you need out of here?"

"I need a sauce pan."

He raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing cooking? We already had dinner. Do you want a snack? We could make something! I've just learned this new technique—"

"As fun as that sounds, I'm not trying to cooking anything. I need warm milk since that's supposed to help people sleep. Seriously, I haven't gotten any rest for three nights."

"Insomnia is normal at this stage. Did you nap today?"

"No. I was hoping that I'll be so tired later I'll just fall out."

That caused him to scowl. "I told you to get some sleep."

"And I told you not to childproof the entire blue box, didn't I?"

He smirked at her. "Well, I didn't do everything…"

"Yeah. You did. You've childproofed the loo. Do you know how inconvenient that is for someone my size? Have you ever been pregnant with two kids?"

"Actually, there was this one time…"

"Don't even start, Doctor."

"Oh, all right. I'll go fix the loo."

He grinned as she pecked him on the cheek and they went their separate ways. She warmed the milk and he undid the childproofing. After that, the robot dogs got yet another upgrade, fifth one that week, and he checked the time. The night cycle had just started, so he happily went off to bed. Rose was already there with a mug of warm milk. He crawled in beside her and she kept sipping.

"Tired yet?" he asked her as he flicked off his lamp.

She sighed. "Not at all."

"Try to sleep. You need it."

"I know I do. Tell that to the girls living in me."

He leaned in to her tummy. "Give your mummy some shuteye, Sarah and Hannah!"

She giggled. "Let's hope they listen."

Slowly, she worked her way under the sheets and turned off the lights. In less than ten minutes, the Doctor was asleep. She wasn't. The babies were stretching and moving and her mind was alert. In her head, she tried counting sheep. That didn't work. It made her think about taking the kids to a petting zoo someday. She tried to ride it out, but she got another one of her pregnancy leg cramps.

Gracelessly, she got out of bed and stretched it by wandering the TARDIS. Even K-9 and Powell were shut off for the night. She made more warm milk and it did nothing. After that, she went to the movie room and tried to watch a documentary on the civilization of Ancient Egypt. It was one of the Doctor's top films, but she had always found it boring. Usually, she was asleep thirty minutes in. She watched all two hours.

She poked her head into their bedroom. The Doctor was out like a light. He didn't need as much sleep as she did, so of course he'd be the one peacefully zonking. She paid a visit to the garden and sat with the flowers for a while. Still not tired. She went to the swimming pool and put her feet in the warm water. Not even a little tired. She visited rooms that she had never seen before, but all it did was keep her awake.

Eventually, she wound up in the nursery. She read through all of the children's books they bought with no tiredness. Idly, she wound up the mobile over Sarah's yellow crib. Then, she sat in the matching rocker and rocked back and forth. It played Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, which was the bedtime song they picked. She held onto one of the teddy bears, still rocking.

"There'll be two babies in here soon," she told the TARDIS with a smile. "Just a few weeks."

That's when it hit her. They were going to be parents. They were actually going to have children. She stopped being calm. In fact, she panicked. She ran—as much as she could—into their bedroom.

"Doctor!"

"What?" he mumbled sleepily.

"We're going to be parents."

"Really? This is news to me."

"Shut it. I'm serious. It's not long at all. Us. Babies. Two. On the TARDIS. Parents. You. Me."

"Us. Sleep. On the TARDIS. Need. It. Badly."

She groaned and turned on all of the lights. He pulled the covers over his head and she pulled them back down. With a sigh, he sat up and attempted to get alert. When he saw her face, he understood the situation completely. It was the first time it had really hit home for her that the pregnancy was almost over.

"Doctor, what if I'm not ready for this? We didn't exactly plan it. I didn't think I'd ever be a mother. This just kind of happened. No warning. No anything. And we're getting two at once. What if I make an awful parent? What if they hate me? What if I make so many mistakes I screw them up for life?"

"Rose, it's going to be fine. You're going to be a brilliant mother. We will make mistakes, but we won't screw anybody up, all right?"

"I just don't know if I'm ready. Can they stay in there for a bit longer?"

"Well, we do have a few weeks. That's plenty of time."

She frowned, deep in thought. "You really think I'll be good at this?"

"Oh, most definitely. Do you remember when I told you that you made me better? Brought me back?"

"I do."

"If you can teach someone that's centuries old how to live again, you can teach a couple of children where to start."

That got her smiling. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. Have you slept at all?"

"No. I watched that entire documentary about Egypt."

He looked completely shocked. "The whole thing? You can't get past the first half hour."

"I know! I've wandered the entire TARDIS too and I'm still not tired."

"Well, I've had my rest. Let's go to the console room for a bit."

After grabbing them both a robe, he took her by the hand and dragged her to the console room. He entered something into the system and then opened the TARDIS doors. They stood in the doorway to watch a nebula for a while. Once that got dull, they watched a few late night talk shows streaming live from Earth. Suddenly, the night cycle ended and he looked up at the lights. Silently, he held out his hand. "C'mon then. Back to bed."

"But…doesn't this mean it's morning?"

"On the TARDIS, it's whatever time you'd like it to be. Let's sleep for a few days. We're going to need it. Unless, of course, you'd like to watch another documentary about Egypt. Can't get enough learning."

She took his hand and chuckled. "No thanks. Our poor children. It's going to be learn learn learn all the time."

"Not all the time. My intention is fun. Fun fun fun all the time."

"But you think learning _is _fun."

He frowned. "You've got me there. Would you like to hear a lecture on the life of amoebas?"

"Why on Earth would I want to hear that?"

"It'll get you to fall asleep, won't it?"

Rose smiled as they got back into bed. She put her head on his shoulder and he began the dissertation. It wasn't five minutes later when she began to snore. He held her tightly with a smirk.

"Goodnight, Tylers."


	14. Chapter 14

"Isn't this beautiful?" the Doctor inquired as they stood on a faraway planet. "No one lives here. It's a shame, really. They should think about a settlement. Two suns. Purple grass. Light breeze."

Rose was standing behind him on the hill, enjoying their afternoon of picnics and sightseeing. She was at forty-one weeks and ready to burst. The Doctor was still lost in the sky, going on and on about the history and geography. She felt an intense pain and glanced down.

"Doctor…"

"Rose?"

"I'm leaking."

"You're what?"

He spun around and she gave him a nervous expression. "I think that my water just broke."

"It did?"

"Like I said. _Leaking_! I'm in pain right now!"

Quickly, he darted to her and ushered her towards the TARDIS. "That's it. Just breathe like I showed you and you'll be fine. And Rose, I kind of need my hands. I'm delivering our children and I can't do that if you break my fingers."

She was attempting to breathe and glaring at him. "Have you ever tried to get a pair of melons through a keyhole? Do you have any idea what this feels like?"

"No, I don't, but I do know what broken bones feel like and my fingers are halfway there."

They moved inside of the TARDIS and to the medical bay. He had everything prepared since he knew that it would be happening soon. He finally got his fingers free and started to work. She grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him in close. "Doctor, I want drugs. I mean it. Keep me stoned out of my mind."

"I will, Rose. I promise. Just…" he gently pried her hand away. "There you are. I'll get it."

He gave her the medication and did an exam. His face scowled at the results. "Rose, you're not very dilated."

"What does that mean?"

"It might take awhile for our daughters to be born."

She frowned. "You mean I can't just wait four hours and be done with it?"

"Well, that isn't how it works. This is more like a full day kind of thing. Or, more than a full day. I can't be sure. Every human is different."

Rose groaned and gripped his arm when another contraction came along. He winced under the pressure. "I thought you drugged me!"

"I did! It takes up to thirty minutes to kick in!"

She glared at him. "Can't you make this go faster?"

"No. I can't. It's the natural process. Just try to relax, all right? I have an idea. I'll swing around and get Jackie. How's that sound? Your mum?"

Rose nodded urgently and he called in K-9 to watch over her. He ran to the TARDIS console and set a course. When the TARDIS appeared, it was in Jackie Tyler's living room. He stuck his head out and Jackie glared from the kitchen. "I told you not to do that anymore, Doctor. Things get broken and strewn all about. Look at this place! And I just got the lamp decorated…"

He glanced at the tall lamp wrapped in lights with a star balanced on the top. "Why would you decorate your lamp?"

"After almost getting killed by a Christmas tree, I stick to the lamp."

"It's Christmas?"

"You mean that you aren't here for the holiday?"

"Sorry. No. Rose is in delivery and would like it if you were there. I would like it as well."

Jackie grinned and ran inside, adding over her shoulder as she went towards the medical bay, "She already a nightmare?"

"Yep. Pretty much."

Jackie and the Doctor stayed with Rose. The first few hours weren't that difficult. Her drugs had kicked in and she was much calmer than before. However, six hours in the drugs wore off and Rose was only dilated halfway. After one bad contraction, she looked at her mother.

"This is what child birth is like?"

"Well, yeah. Why else would I always remind you that I delivered you? I wouldn't do that if it was a cakewalk, would I?"

Rose pointed a finger. "This is your fault, Doctor."

"What? This is not my fault. That group of aliens did this. Take up a fight with them."

"No, you idiot. That's not what I meant. You said that you'd keep me drugged."

He scowled. "I have to wait another hour before I can safely give you another one. Just keep it together. You're doing great."

The pain began to intensify in the fourteenth hour. Jackie was napping in a chair beside Rose—ready with the camera—and the Doctor was examining her again. He grinned excitedly. "Rose, it's time. Jackie, wake up!"

Jackie bolted awake. "What? Who?"

"It's time to deliver the girls. Rose, I'm going to need you to start pushing soon. Are you ready?"

"No, I think that I'll stay in delivery for the next few years. It's such a fun time. Just get on with it!"

"All right, you don't have to resort to sarcasm. Start pushing."

She about broke Jackie's hand, but other than that she was doing fine. After a lot of pushing, cursing, yelling, blaming the Doctor, and screaming, the Doctor had the first baby in his arms. Shrill crying filled the air as he cut the cord and wrapped the little one in a pink blanket. He smiled fondly at the tiny person.

"Hello, my daughter. It's your dad."

Carefully, he carried her to Rose and she cradled the baby in her arms. She had tears in her eyes and Jackie was bawling uncontrollably. "Look at her, Mum. She's perfect," Rose whispered as the girl stopped sobbing. Unfortunately, it didn't last long. Rose yelled in pain causing the baby to yell as well. "The other one! We have two!"

"Oh, that's right! I almost forgot," the Doctor exclaimed as he ran back to work.

Jackie held the little one as the Doctor coached Rose through the next delivery. Soon, their second girl was crying with their first one. He handed the child to Rose as he finished everything up. Jackie gave Rose both of the kids and the Doctor sat on the bed next to them.

"They're finally here," Rose said in disbelief. "Eight months later."

"And so small! Look at that. What a Christmas present," the Doctor grinned widely.

She caught his gaze and they kissed passionately, awkwardly pulling apart when they remembered that Jackie was in the room. She was still crying and hugged them both at the same time. "I'm a grandmother! Me! They're so beautiful. This is the best Christmas ever. The world didn't end and I have these two babies. Let's take a million pictures for the books!"

Close to thirty pictures later, Rose and the Doctor had to decide which one was which. The Doctor pointed to the one in the pink blanket. "I say that she's more of a Hannah."

Rose nodded to the yellow blanket. "She's more of a Hannah. Mum, what do you say?"

Jackie examined the babies. "I say that I can't tell them apart. Good luck to you, parents. Dear Lord that's going to be hell."

"I'd expect nothing less. Well, back to the point. Which one is more of a Sarah?" the Doctor asked Rose.

Rose frowned at the two bundles. "Well, the one in the yellow blanket."

"But you just said that was Hannah."

"I know. I'm so confused. It's like they're clones or something. Why don't you just pick?"

"All right, I say that the yellow blanket is Sarah and the pink blanket is Hannah. Sarah's crib is the yellow one, remember? It only makes sense," the Doctor decided.

"Okay," Rose agreed tiredly. "Yellow is Sarah and pink is Hannah. Did we tell you that Sarah's middle name is Jaclyn, Mum?"

Jackie burst into tears and hugged the nearest thing, the Doctor. "I'm so happy! That's so lovely. Sarah Jaclyn. Just lovely. What about Hannah?"

"Hannah Rosaline, after Rose…" the Doctor explained, receiving another bone crushing embrace.

"Another lovely name! Lovely girls, lovely family, just lovely lovely lovely! Will I get to babysit?"

"Probably more than you'd like," Rose responded with a smile.

The Doctor and Rose grew quiet as they looked down at their twins. Jackie could sense that they wanted some family time, and she reluctantly decided to actually butt out for once. "Why don't I go back to my flat? You all need some time together and rest."

They all agreed. To Jackie's surprise, he hugged her tightly before she left the room. She gave him a curious expression and he merely stated, "You're family, Jackie."

"So are you, Doctor. You best bring the girls 'round as soon as possible and _not_ after a year goes by. Don't think that I've forgotten the year without my Rose, Doctor. I will slap you silly if you screw up like that again! Well, I'm off. Merry Christmas and much love to you all."

Dramatically, Jackie made her exit. Once she was gone, the Doctor went into the console room and set the TARDIS to drift. He returned to the medical bay to sit beside Rose. She was talking to the girls in quiet whispers. When she noticed the Doctor, she smirked wickedly. "You're on diaper duty for the first week, Doctor. I've won our bet."

"They were just born. How can you tell if they have dark hair or not?"

She motioned to them and he took a closer look. Both of the girls had a small crop of brown hair atop their heads and golden brown eyes like their mother. He inwardly groaned at himself for not noticing sooner. Yet again, a Tyler woman was right.

"Bugger," he sighed as he picked Sarah up. "Why did you have to have brown hair from the start? Couldn't you have waited a few years?"

After several minutes, she reached out and grabbed his nose, causing Rose to gasp. "How did she do that? That's not possible yet, is it?"

"That's the Time Lady in her. Did I mention that we develop much faster than humans, both in intellect and motor skills?"

Rose looked down at Hannah with a worrisome smile. "How much faster?"

"…a lot. Not even a few hours old and already displaying three month old skills. They are so clever. Want to switch?" he offered. They clumsily swapped children, chuckling. "We'll need to work on that."

"We will. Doctor, they're here. They're actually here. Blimey, I've never been so terrified in my entire life. I'm a mother."

"You are. I'm just as scared as you and I've done this before."

"But we'll be fine, yeah? They can't be too much trouble."

"Let's hope…" he answered with an agitated smile.

For several hours, they stayed on the medical bay bed taking turns holding the twins. After he caught Rose yawning, he helped her up and they got the girls ready for bed. They set them down in their respective cots, each saying goodnight to Hannah and Sarah. He used his sonic screwdriver to turn on the mobiles before they left.

Rose took a bath and climbed into bed exhausted. He got in beside her with a smile. "You have a clean bill of health and so do our daughters. I checked that while you were in the bath. Now, let's get some much needed sleep."

He kissed her and pulled her into his arms. It wasn't five minutes later when the crying started. Rose grumbled. "Already?"

"You sleep. I'll take this one."

"Are you sure?" she asked him guiltily.

"I only require two hours of sleep a night. I just like to get more than that. I'll be fine. You need your rest."

He pecked her on the cheek and wandered across the hall to the nursery. Both kids were crying at once, so he took one in each arm. They wouldn't get quiet no matter how hard he tried. Rose wandered in and sat in the rocker, holding out her arms. He reluctantly handed them over.

"You really should get to bed," he told her.

"Do you know why they're crying?" she asked with a sleepy smirk. "I'll give you a hint. I have them and you don't."

She began to feed them and he chuckled. When Hannah finished, she passed her off to the Doctor. He began to read a story and Rose rocked Sarah to sleep. They put them back to bed and went into their room.

"We're quite a team," the Doctor commented as he wrapped around Rose comfortably.

"So are they," she laughed. "Goodnight. Merry Christmas, Doctor."

"Same to you, Rose. We should get plenty of rest now that they're out."

Ten minutes later, the crying started all over again…

_**End**_

_A/N: Thank you so much for all of the reviews, favs, and follows. I never thought that this story would get as much traffic as it has. There is a strong chance for a baby fic sequel, so keep an eye out. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I have enjoyed writing it._


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